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Gargoyles and Grotesques of St. Denys, Aswarby, Lincolnshire

Categories: British, Gargoyle of the Day

A gargoyle, the Church of St Denys, Aswarby, Lincolnshire, England. Photo by Spencer Means on Flickr (Creative Commons).

This square-ish fellow kind of reminds me of an early video game creature. When I went to get the image link, I noticed it was titled “Hunky Punk”, which I thought was interesting. I googled the term and discovered that “hunky punk” is a term specifically used in Somerset, England to describe grotesques (never true gargoyles) on church buildings. According to Wikipedia, which was unfortunately the most reliable site I came across on my search, hunky punks are typically short, square-ish and rather crudely-carved, just like our little pac-mac from Aswarby (Hunky Punk on Wikipedia). I’m so excited to have a new research term to explore when working on my gargoyle book! Look for more hunky punks as future gargoyles of the day.

Tags: British, church, gargoyles, grotesques

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3 responses to “Gargoyles and Grotesques of St. Denys, Aswarby, Lincolnshire”

belinda o

October 25, 2015

Those gargoyles had an amazing amount of character. Makes me wonder what tales people would tell about them.

Reply
1. ascholarlyskater
  
  October 25, 2015
  
  I’ve some across some such tales in my research. The old myths and legends are pretty great, but the modern-day stories people write about gargoyles aren’t usually to my tastes. Gargoyle romances are apparently quite popular, but I truly can’t figure out why. I have seen a few good mysteries and adventure stories involving gargoyles, though.
  
  Reply
  1. belinda o
    
    October 25, 2015
    
    I can imagine the old myths and legends would be better. I’ve never heard of gargoyle romances, good grief. But I’ll keep my eyes and ears open for some of the others!

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The mission of A Scholarly Skater Art History is to make historical art and architecture accessible to everyone.
I’m Alexandra, an art historian who believes that looking at art can enrich everyone’s life. Welcome to my website!
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