The Monday Photo

Over the centuries the way churches are used has changed, and one recent common change is to make them more suitable for general community use, alongside services and ceremonies for births, marrriages and deaths.

In this case a corner of Lavendon’s church of St Michael has been converted into a toilet, which is why we see a 13th Century window with some ordinary household items under it. I'm seeing toilets added to churches more and more now.

This facility also makes things a bit more comfortable for the more elderly members of the congregation. The diagonal pullcord on the left side of the photo is to summon help if somebody gets into difficulties, perhaps more likely to happen if some of the parishioners are becoming infirm.

There will be a full post on this church, which dates back to Saxon times, at some time in the future.