Elswyth

Photographs and Stories by Kate Coldrick | Woodbury, Devon

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

  • Escomb Saxon Church

    From Elswyth, a collection attentive to the traces of early devotion and the quiet persistence of place.

    Escomb Church holds its stillness in a way that feels older than the landscape around it. One of the finest surviving examples of early Anglo-Saxon architecture, its seventh-century stonework catches this afternoon’s winter light in soft, shifting planes, and the tall, narrow windows hold a quiet clarity. Inside, a carved cross stands behind the altar, its simple lines worn smooth by time, while fragments of early painted decoration survive high on the arch above. Together they anchor the space in a deep past, making it easy to imagine the earliest prayers once spoken here – words carried forward in time.

    Escomb Saxon Church interior chancel arch - photograph by Kate Coldrick
    Escomb Saxon Church detail on interior chancel arch - photograph by Kate Coldrick
    Escomb Saxon Church altar cross - photograph by Kate Coldrick
    Escomb Saxon Church window - photograph by Kate Coldrick
    Escomb Saxon Church exterior - photograph by Kate Coldrick

    fæder ðu in heofnum
    gehalgod noma ðin
    to cymð ric ðin
    si willa ðin suae is in heofne ⁊ in eorðo
    hlaf userne ofer-wistiic sel us to dæg
    ⁊ forgef us scylda usera
    suae we forgefon scyldgum usrum
    ⁊ ne inlæd us in costunge
    ah gefrig us fra yfele

    Source: Lindisfarne Gospels, BL Cotton MS Nero D IV, ff. 37r–37v (Old Northumbrian gloss).

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

  • 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.