Mediaeval parish churches are some of the oldest and most loved buildings in the British Isles. However, relatively few of them have been archaeologically surveyed and many unverified stories have grown up around them. This talk will look at some of the commonly repeated tales about the architecture of churches, which are widely assumed to be true, but which ultimately fall into the realm of folklore and myth.

These stories include doorways apparently blocked to keep the Devil out, churches alleged to be aligned to the sunrise on their saint's day and windows said to allow lepers to watch the mass. These are tales repeated in good faith but are not based in the lived reality of the mediaeval world. Instead, we will look at the how churches were used before the Reformation. By applying contextual archaeological and historical evidence the architectural functions of churches will be investigated and unlocked.

The speaker, James Wright (Triskele Heritage), is an award winning buildings archaeologist. He has two decades professional experience of ferreting around in people’s cellars, hunting through their attics and digging up their gardens. He hopes to find meaningful truths about how ordinary and extraordinary folk lived their lives in the mediaeval period. He is the author of the popular Mediaeval Mythbusting Blog.

This lecture is crowdfunded through donation. It will be the debut of a new bespoke talk. There is no minimum donation so it is possible to contribute as little or as much as you want. Your donation is your ticket and you will be sent a link to access the event by Eventbrite.

Please note that this live event will not be recorded and made available online afterwards.

If you have a question about the event – in the first instance please see our FAQs section. The answer will almost certainly be in there.

*** If you have any problems accessing the events please email with your booking reference to james@triskeleheritage.com ***

Attics are dark and enigmatic places. Yet in ancient buildings they offer the chance of illumination when trying to understand the historic development of a structure. Roofs are often the least altered element of a building and retain more of their original fabric than any other part of a property. For researchers they offer a hugely significant repository of data which can be understood and interpreted.

This online event will open the attic hatch on the lost, hidden and fascinating world of mediaeval roofs. We will look at how roofs are constructed, the changes in design across time and place, the functions of roof spaces in the past, and some of the startling archaeological discoveries that are made up in the rafters.

The speaker, James Wright (Triskele Heritage), is an award winning buildings archaeologist. He has two decades professional experience of ferreting around in people’s cellars, hunting through their attics and digging up their gardens. He hopes to find meaningful truths about how ordinary and extraordinary folk lived their lives in the mediaeval period. He is the author of the popular Mediaeval Mythbusting Blog.

This lecture is crowdfunded through donation. It will be the debut of a new bespoke talk. There is no minimum donation so its possible to contribute as little or as much as you want. Your donation is your ticket and you will be sent a link to access the event by Eventbrite.

Please note that this live event will not be recorded and made available online afterwards.

If you have a question about the event – in the first instance please see our FAQs section. The answer will almost certainly be in there.

This lecture is crowdfunded through donation. It will be the debut of a new bespoke talk. There is no minimum donation so its possible to contribute as little or as much as you want.

*** If you have any problems accessing the events please email with your booking reference to james@triskeleheritage.com ***