Gargoyles and Grotesques of All Saints’ Church, Gresford, Wales

A medieval church is a small Welsh village, All Saints’ is apparently considered to be one of the Seven Wonders of Wales. It also has some pretty phenomenal gargoyles and grotesques. They have a simplicity to them, a roughness, and a lack of detail that I find fascinating and highly effective. This makes me think they are truly medieval (not 19th century) and haven’t been restored. They are almost abstract in some ways, and I don’t think I’ve ever seen any other gargoyles quite like them. These figures tend to be big and out-there, but these are so subtle and cheeky. They’re mostly grotesques, from what I can tell, but I love how the figure below references the function of a gargoyle without actually performing it.