Symm & Co Ltd - Gargoyles are carvings that have a function too

Oxford is noted as one of England’s cultural, educational and architectural masterpieces – its history as a settlement reaches back before the year 1000 AD. Famed for its majestic spires, beautiful colleges and university buildings, it is steeped in tradition and detail, personified by strange creatures in stone lurking high up, protruding against the skyline, roaming along and around the buildings and spying on those below.
Gargoyles are carvings that have a function too – they take the rain from the guttering behind them, ‘gargling’ the rain and spewing it out through the mouth.
A Grotesque is a figure of humour or horror but with a decorative function, said to scare away evil spirits. Gargoyles and Grotesques may be human or animal, allegorical or real and may represent noted individuals or religious figures. Not all have violent expressions, some are quiet with watchful eyes.
Other examples of the stone masons art can be seen in numerous small details: crests, niches, statuary, decoration and embellishment. They usually adorn the exterior or buildings, in the same stone, but do occur inside as well.
Symm’s associated company, APS Masonry, also based in Oxford, takes inspiration from the extraordinary and stunning architectural details surrounding it, and undertakes a wide range of commissions from private residences and collegiate buildings to private buildings.
Comments CEO Aidan Mortimer ‘Gargoyles have not been particularly popular in the last fifty years or so, but are beginning to enjoy something of a renaissance. For their black and gothic wit, they are an entertaining asset to many buildings’.

Email: sophie@parkerhobart.com