So which was the lucky winner? Let's get that out of the way first.
Thaxted, St John the Baptist
This church is quite spectacular externally, and is known as the 'Cathedral of Essex'. Every nook and cranny is seemingly filled with carvings of heads, faces, animals and various mythical beasts. There were far too many to count, each pinnacle having at least four faces.
Our man was on the west side of the South Porch and was of what I consider to be the 'classical' style, whilst on the north side I spotted at least two club-wielding Wild Woses, one taking pride of place on a pinnacle the North Transept.
This is a church I shall definitely have to return to in future. Who knows what delights await us inside? Entry to the church is unusually via the North porch, using a 'door within a door'.
Whilst in Thaxted, it would be boorish not to mention some of the other historical delights of the place, which include a Guildhall dating from 1390 (earlier than the church itself), and next to it a cottage where Dick Turpin was reputed to have lived.
Thaxted was also home to Gustav Holst, composer of the Planets Suite, and hosts a working windmill. the Thaxted Morrismen are supposedly one of the oldest sides in the country, and feature on the town signs at the North and South approaches to the town. The side were not in evidence during our visit, though there is a Fayre tomorrow (Bank Holiday Monday) where they will be dancing out.
Ok, so Thaxted was an interesting stop and worth a visit all by itself, but where else did we go today? A brief list should suffice for our purposes as none of the other churches visited showed any external evidence of the Green Man, which is our main focus here.
Little Chesterford, St Mary the Virgin - there was a sign in the porch listing keyholders, but it was quite an early start for us, far too early to wake a keyholder!
Littlebury, Holy Trinity - this church had some ornate corbel heads on the East end of the church, but they almost looked too unworn to be of any age. The church was locked.
Radwinter, St Mary - the Service was just about to commence - bells were calling the parishioners in as I arrived, though I suspect many of them were attending the Boot Fair in nearby fields across the road. The church has an interesting 2 storey South porch, so may be worth a revisit if in the area.
Great Sampford, St Michael - a notice stated that the church is 'normally open. Summer 10-4, Winter 10-3'. It was 8:30 in the morning when we got here...
Little Bardfield, St Katharine - a delightful little church, set back from the road, and which was open. No evidence of the Green Man, internally or externally. There was a guide book for sale at £6.50, but a scan through the demo copy suggested this was more about the history of the parish and its people rather than the structure of the church.
Great Bardfield, St Mary the Virgin - locked tight, but the presence of Clerestory windows suggests that any possible Green Man roof bosses inside would be impossibly high and difficult to see.
Finchingfield, St John the Baptist - A Christening appeared to be in progress so I could not gain entry to the church itself. Several heads on the window stops appeared to be modern, one sporting what appeared to be aviator goggles! There was an older mouth-puller figure on the northwest side of the tower though (difficult to photograph against the sun).
The village itself is beautiful, but was busy with the hum of motorbike engines around the village pond. It seems to be one of those places they all converge on when the weather is as pleasant as it was today.
Looking at the map after the journey, it never fails to amaze me just how many churches there are still left to visit in this area.
See this trip on TravelSkoot.
