Elswyth

Photographs and Stories by Kate Coldrick | Woodbury, Devon

Elswyth by Kate Coldrick
Kate Coldrick — photographer and writer based in Woodbury, Devon

  • Winter Spices at Coleton Fishacre

    From Elswyth, a record of how winter’s quiet gestures – warmth, spice, memory – settle into place.

    A small copper pan simmered quietly on the range at Coleton Fishacre, filling the kitchen with the soft warmth of citrus and spice. The pared lemons, darkened with heat, sat alongside a single cinnamon stick – simple ingredients carrying the whole atmosphere of winter. In the stillness of the room, it felt like a fragment of the estate’s 1920s Christmas brought to life through scent alone.

    Winter spices at Coleton Fishacre – citrus and cinnamon warming in a copper pan.

    We arrived to the sounds of the Charleston and the aromas of winter spices amid a 1920s-style Christmas celebration of the estate’s 100th anniversary.

    Words and images © Kate Coldrick – part of the Elswyth collection.

  • A Night Owl in Budleigh Salterton

    From Elswyth, a collection attentive to quiet details that often go unnoticed.

    In the church at Budleigh Salterton, a small painted owl perches in the leaded windows, keeping its silent watch above the candlelight. Seen at night, it feels almost animate – guardian of the threshold, poised between darkness and warmth. There is a gentle stillness in these moments, where old glass, soft glow, and Scripture seem to speak to one another.

    Stained glass owl in Budleigh Salterton church window - photograph by Kate Coldrick
    Stained glass owl in Budleigh Salterton church window - photograph by Kate Coldrick
    Stained glass hen and chicks in Budleigh Salterton church window - photograph by Kate Coldrick

    “Even the darkness will not be dark to you; the night will shine like the day, for darkness is as light to you.” – Psalms 139:12

    Words and images © Kate Coldrick – part of the Elswyth collection.

  • All Saints Church in Bristol

    From Elswyth, a collection tracing how history folds into the everyday.

    All Saints Church, Bristol, stands quietly behind the bustle of Corn Street – its carved angels and darkened stone holding centuries of memory. There’s a stillness to places like this, where the sacred and the ordinary coexist, and where each worn threshold seems to breathe with the presence of those who once passed through.

    All Saints Church in Bristol by Kate Coldrick
    All Saints Church in Bristol by Kate Coldrick
    All Saints Church in Bristol by Kate Coldrick
    All Saints Church in Bristol by Kate Coldrick
    All Saints Church in Bristol by Kate Coldrick

    Nestled down a narrow passageway, this entrance hides a former church from the 12th-century and is the site of the first public library in the country.

    Words and images © Kate Coldrick – part of the Elswyth collection.