Where can I find gargoyles in Gloucestershire?
Where are they found?
Originally gargoyles and grotesques were only carved on churches, abbeys or cathedrals, but sometimes they were placed on palaces, stately homes and occasionally on castles.
Gargoyles are usually found on the stringcourse - a band of projecting masonry that runs horizontally around the exterior of a church or other building.
Gargoyles are also commonly found on church towers, either on the faces or on the corners or on turrets of other buildings.
Grotesques can be found anywhere on a building.
Grotesques are often found alongside gargoyles, but being purely decorative they can be placed on other parts of buildings - most especially at the ends of window hood mouldings (these are the projecting strips that run around windows on old buildings).
Where can I see them?
Gloucestershire has a large population of gargoyles and grotesques, they are spread all around the county, so wherever you are you won't be too far away from or the other!
Click here to find out more about the county's dragon legends!