Devonshire Feb 16
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The Green Man<br />
hiding in the heart of Devon<br />
The middle of Devon is home to a mysterious figure<br />
that can be found hiding in some of the most<br />
picturesque churches in the county.<br />
Often hidden high up in the roofs of these<br />
magnificent medieval buildings, the carved<br />
images of the Green Man look down on the<br />
congregation and visitors alike. The Green<br />
there are conflicting<br />
arguments as to why<br />
the Green Man is so well<br />
represented in this part of<br />
the country<br />
Man though, is not a Christian figure, he dates<br />
from pagan times when trees and woodland<br />
formed the basis of our religions. Indeed,<br />
the area of Devon where he can be found in<br />
number is full of place names such as Nymet<br />
and Nympton, both of which are old Celtic<br />
terms meaning sacred groves. The Heart of<br />
Devon was once a very special place for tree<br />
worshippers.<br />
The image of the Green Man is that of a face,<br />
surrounded by foliage and with leafy shoots<br />
sprouting forth from the mouth, nostrils<br />
and sometimes even the eyes. These images<br />
are carved in to the oak bosses that brace<br />
the timber of the church roofs, they are<br />
sometimes also carved in to the Rood screens<br />
that separate the chancel from the nave. They<br />
are not always immediately obvious; the Green<br />
Man tends to lurk in the shadows. In the area<br />
around North Tawton and Bow in mid Devon,<br />
Green Man image displayed at<br />
the Bow based Heart of Devon<br />
festival<br />
several churches can be found that are home<br />
to the Green Man, whilst other parts of the<br />
county have none. Is it, perhaps, connected to<br />
the old sacred woodland groves that once were<br />
part of this rural landscape. It is tempting<br />
to think so; the importance of the area to<br />
past religions was underlined in 1984 when<br />
the soil marks of a large woodhenge were<br />
spotted, during an aerial survey, alongside<br />
the River Yeo on the edge of the village of<br />
Bow. The woodhenge dates back to the third<br />
millennium B.C and would have measured<br />
Green Man<br />
at Samprford<br />
Courtney<br />
photo by Bruce Gibbs<br />
96<br />
Countryside, History, Walks, the Arts, Events & all things Devon at: DEVONSHIRE magazine.co.uk
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