Sometimes that's most the case in very old places. The voices are still there. Look quietly and listen.
Last week I spent a morning in Ely Cathedral, which dates back to the seventh century. It was time out with my dad, also a keen photographer, and a welcome chance to borrow his tripod and create some effective longer exposures.
It's a remarkable building. The grandeur of its scale is balanced by the intricate detail of its surface decorations. The marks of its makers are everywhere and it's humbling to imagine their stories.
My favourite part is Bishop Alcock's chapel, with its royal icing stalactites, battered and broken by time.
At Ely, I'm constantly looking upwards. I'm sure that was part of the original plan.
The face of Christ breaks the symmetry and forms the central point of the octagon tower's ceiling.
The angels are painted on huge wooden "doors" which allow closer access to the ceiling.
Textures and perspectives, combinations to draw the eye for hours.....
....and a sense of being very small, yet a part of something very big.
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