Editing Hunky punk

{{Short description|Decorative carvings on English buildings}}
{{Distinguish|text = hinkypunk, another word for [[will-o-the-wisp]]}}
[[File:Tower, St Mary's Church, Yarlington - geograph.org.uk - 1012782.jpg|thumb|upright=1.2|The 15th-century tower of [[St Mary, Yarlington]], [[Somerset]], with [[crocket]] pinnacles and hunky punks on the corners.]]

A '''hunky punk''' is a [[grotesque (architecture)|grotesque]] carving on the side of a building, especially Late [[Gothic architecture|Gothic]] churches. Such features are especially numerous in [[Somerset]] (in the [[West Country]] of [[England]]).<ref>{{cite book|last=Wright|first=Peter Poyntz|title=Hunky Punks: A Study in Somerset Stone Carving|date=2004|publisher=Heart of Albion Press|isbn=978-1872883755|edition=2}}</ref>

Though similar in appearance to a [[gargoyle]], a hunky punk is purely decorative, with no other functional purpose (often referred to as a [[grotesque (architecture)|grotesque]]). A gargoyle is not strictly a hunky punk, because a gargoyle serves to drain water off the roof through its mouth. An example might be found at the corner of a [[Bell tower|church tower]], along the [[coping (architecture)|coping]] ridge below any [[castellation]]s. Often there are carvings on each corner, yet the roof may drain in only one direction and so there might be three hunky punks and one true gargoyle.

Hunky punks are often short [[Squatting position|squatting]] figures typical of those found in some Somerset churches; however, hunky punks come in many shapes and sizes, mostly in middle to late [[medieval architecture|medieval]] construction onwards.  Some theories consider that the balance of [[good and evil]] in church design was to remind worshippers of the narrow path they tread, which was present in everything. This supposes that, for every good and benign creature (such as a saint or an animal) to signify purity, there had to be an opposite to bring out the fear of evil. In [[York Minster]], for example, the carvings in the chapter house, which are particularly obscene and which were supposedly created as caricatures of the then dean and chapter, were put there above the seats to create an opposite to each occupant, who one might like to assume was not in fact the foul person their carvings made them out to be.

The origin of the term ''hunky punk'' has been ascribed to the words ''{{linktext|hunkers}}'' (meaning '{{linktext|haunch}}es') and ''{{linktext|punchy}}'' ('short-legged').<ref name="Isle Abbots"/>

==Examples==

The church tower of [[St Mary the Virgin, Isle Abbotts]] has eight hunky punks around its top. They depict a person playing the bagpipes; a lion-dog ([[Chinese guardian lion]]); a goat; a dragon; a [[Chinese dragon]]; a primitive dragon; a [[winged lion]]; and a lion.<ref name="Isle Abbots">''St Mary the Virgin, Isle Abbots: Church Guide'', published by Isle Abbots PCC, no date</ref>

==See also==
* [[Church grim]], a folklore spirit
* [[Sheela na gig]], another architectural grotesque

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==Further reading==
*''Hunky punks: a study in Somerset stonecarving'', Peter Poyntz Wright, Avebury Pub. Co., 1982

==External links==
* [http://www.indigogroup.co.uk/edge/braunstn.htm Goddess or Queen? The enigmatic carving at Braunston in Rutland]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20070704131944/http://www.ppwtalkandtours.co.uk/hunkypunks.html ''Hunky Punks'']: a blurb about a book about Somerset stone carvings
* [http://www.minervaconservation.com/articles/hunkypunks Short video about conservation of a hunky punks]

[[Category:Arts in Somerset]]
[[Category:English legendary creatures]]
[[Category:Grotesques]]
[[Category:History of Somerset]]
[[Category:Somerset folklore]]
[[Category:Squatting position]]