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John Wilkes of Cam near Dursley, Gloucestershire
The Gloucestershire Photo Library
Page composition by Allan Taylor of Vancouver, Canada
http://www.allthecotswolds.com
Siddington near Cirencester is in flat farming country. There is a pleasant stretch of the old Severn and Thames canal to the south of the village. St. Peter's Church contains some unique Norman remains, notably the sculptured south doorway with its inner arch of beakheads. This doorway is well preserved and dates from circa 1150. Here is perhaps an example of medieval humour; one creature is holding the snouts of his neighbours who are giving him curiously comical sidelong glances. Stone carved beakheads are seen elsewhere in Cotswold churches, for example at Elkstone and Quenington. In the tympanum here at Siddington, Christ is handing the Key to St. Peter. The third figure is thought to be the donor of the doorway stonework.
