Clock Tower, St Albans, Hertfordshire
Gargoyles, these charmingly grotesque figures, date back as far as Ancient Egyptian architecture and, in more recent times, became a common feature in Gothic architecture. They were designed to act as a spout to convey water from the roof and/or gutter, hence the word’s derivation from the French ‘gargouille’ meaning throat, but are also used to indicate a guardian ensuring the banishment of all evil spirits.
The Clock Tower featured here was built between 1403 and 1412, and the gargoyles were added as part of a serious renovation project in the mid-nineteenth century.
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Copyright Debbie Smyth, 19 February 2022
Posted as part of Becky’s SquareOdds and Hammad’s Weekend Sky
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Travel with Intent 
This is an amazing point of view, Debbie!
Thank you very much for sharing this with my challenge 🙂
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Great to be able to get so close.
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Gargoyles are certainly odd creatures. Great picture. 🙂
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Thanks Marsha. They seem to have so much character, they seem to bring buildings to life
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We don’t see many of them here, at least in the West. I saw quite a few in Melbourne when I was there, and I was fascinated with them. Carol had to explain to me what they were.
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I love gargoyles and always look up whenever we visit a cathedral or other major building in Europe. This one is wonderful, and your perspective is a treat!
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Glad you enjoyed it so much 🙂
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Wow! Incredible angle and closeness of this shot! Gargoyles are so cool but seem to saw far out of reach. Watching over towns and cities. I love the out of focus city in this photo.
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Yes, it’s great to be able to get close to this one. Valencia had a great display of quite “active” gargoyles but they are so far away it’s hard to see them properly
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Wonderful photo, Debbie. I love seeing gargoyles.
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Amazing how much character they have – I think the sculptors really enjoyed making these
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I think you have to love your work to create something like that.
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And this gargoyle is a winged lion too! Fabulous!
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And gargoyles are such nice creatures. Just ask Terry Pratchett: “In fact, I have never met anyone who didn’t like Gargoyles.” If I remember correctly – they are territorial (in that they stick to their own territory), never come below the second storey and are ever so polite. They are a bit difficult to understand since they can’t close their mouths, though.
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🙂 🙂 🙂
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Thinking of them all gargling now!
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Great shot, Debbie & a wee bit of a history lesson 😃 Here’s mine: https://jezbraithwaite.blog/2022/02/19/nothing-odd-here-or-is-there/
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I haven’t been up there for a while but hopefully it will open again this Easter. It’s great standing on top of all that history and admiring the views, in the company of a wonderful gargoyle. And I enjoyed your intriguing oddity
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