On Tuesday 18 August ten Art in the Park sketchers arrived at the ruins of St Alphage in the City of London. St Alphage himself was a Saxon Archbishop of Canterbury who was murdered by the Danes in 1012 (in Greenwich, where he has another church dedicated to him) after refusing to let his impoverished people pay a heavy ransom for his release. He was canonized in 1078, deservedly. The ruins we see now were not his original church but a former priory building which became part of a hospital which survived the Dissolution of the Monasteries, but then had a very chequered history, which included being bombed in the Blitz. Happily, the base of the tower is now preserved and is a charming part of the little garden alongside which also includes a segment of the old London Wall. The ruins are closely embraced by a rust-red raised walkway as well as the completely overpowering vast offices close by which mostly we omitted from our compositions.
We had a pleasant session in the gardens, the heatwave being over and the rains not yet arrived. Most people took on the arches, and all their fascinating texture, but several found areas of interest in the gardens. Please enjoy our images below.
Our next sketch date will be Tuesday 15 September, probably in Broomfield Park, Palmers Green. Details to follow.
Image above by Michael Hill Image above by Diane Umemoto Image above by Gill Steiner Image above by Janet Perkins 
Two images above by Sue Lees
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