Medieval History
Photo by Lawrence OP
The church of St Mary in Freeland, Oxfordshire was designed by J L Pearson in the Early English style. It was constructed between 1869 and 1871 at the expense of the Taunton family. The church has an exquisite and remarkably well-preserved Tractarian interior, with lavish contemporary decoration. The apsidal chancel has a decorative scheme by Clayton and Bell, including stained glass and a rich series of wallpaintings.
Polychromy covers every inch of the chancel walls. Below the dado the walls are painted in a vibrant red ochre, which is powdered with stencilled devices. Above that are a series of narrative panels depicting the passion of Christ, painted in an ochre grisaille. In some of the panels this ochre grisaille is relieved with muted yellow ochre and pastel green and blue. The two central panels of the north and south wall, Christ's entry into Jerusalem and his burial, get a more vibrant treatment, with Clayton and Bell adding richer blues and greens.
Christ crowned with thorns
The scourging of Christ
The Last Supper
The entry into Jerusalem
The entry into Jerusalem
The burial of Christ
The stained glass in the chancel follows the theme of the life of Christ, with windows depicting the Nativity. I don't have any pictures of them, but Lawrence Lew has an excellent selection on his Flickr page, taken when we visited the church together last year.
- Window Splays
Silchester, Hampshire, St. Mary's Church 15, originally uploaded by Eric Hardy. Browsing on friends photos on Flickr I came across this lovely image of the south side of the chancel at Silchester in Hampshire by Eric Hardy. The splays of the windows...
- Te Deum Ceiling
The chancel of All Saints in South Elkington, Lincolnshire, had been constructed by the local architect James Fowler in 1874 in a rather plain and pedestrian 'middle pointed' style. In 1904 the rector of Elkington Canon Smyth retired and his...
- Painted Rood Beam
Woodeaton, Oxfordshire, originally uploaded by Vitrearum.Woodeaton, Oxfordshire has a super little medieval church with loads of texture. The walls have the crumbling remains of layer after layer of wallpaintings, including loads of red ochre lining...
- Christ In Majesty - Thirteenth Century Glass
Aston Sandford, Buckinghamshire, originally uploaded by Vitrearum.The tiny thirteenth century church at Aston Sandford in Buckinghamshire has a single panel of medieval glass, a glorious figure of Christ in Majesty labelled as 'Salvator Mundi'...
- A Defaced Medieval Reredos - Notgrove, Gloucestershire
The east wall behind the high altar of the tiny little estate church at Notgrove in Gloucestershire is generally covered with a large tapestry, which was made in 1954. If you pull it up, and there is a little pulley to help you, you reveal this: the...
Medieval History
Clayton and Bell at Freeland
Photo by Lawrence OP
The church of St Mary in Freeland, Oxfordshire was designed by J L Pearson in the Early English style. It was constructed between 1869 and 1871 at the expense of the Taunton family. The church has an exquisite and remarkably well-preserved Tractarian interior, with lavish contemporary decoration. The apsidal chancel has a decorative scheme by Clayton and Bell, including stained glass and a rich series of wallpaintings.
Polychromy covers every inch of the chancel walls. Below the dado the walls are painted in a vibrant red ochre, which is powdered with stencilled devices. Above that are a series of narrative panels depicting the passion of Christ, painted in an ochre grisaille. In some of the panels this ochre grisaille is relieved with muted yellow ochre and pastel green and blue. The two central panels of the north and south wall, Christ's entry into Jerusalem and his burial, get a more vibrant treatment, with Clayton and Bell adding richer blues and greens.
Christ crowned with thorns
The scourging of Christ
The Last Supper
The entry into Jerusalem
The entry into Jerusalem
The burial of Christ
The stained glass in the chancel follows the theme of the life of Christ, with windows depicting the Nativity. I don't have any pictures of them, but Lawrence Lew has an excellent selection on his Flickr page, taken when we visited the church together last year.
- Window Splays
Silchester, Hampshire, St. Mary's Church 15, originally uploaded by Eric Hardy. Browsing on friends photos on Flickr I came across this lovely image of the south side of the chancel at Silchester in Hampshire by Eric Hardy. The splays of the windows...
- Te Deum Ceiling
The chancel of All Saints in South Elkington, Lincolnshire, had been constructed by the local architect James Fowler in 1874 in a rather plain and pedestrian 'middle pointed' style. In 1904 the rector of Elkington Canon Smyth retired and his...
- Painted Rood Beam
Woodeaton, Oxfordshire, originally uploaded by Vitrearum.Woodeaton, Oxfordshire has a super little medieval church with loads of texture. The walls have the crumbling remains of layer after layer of wallpaintings, including loads of red ochre lining...
- Christ In Majesty - Thirteenth Century Glass
Aston Sandford, Buckinghamshire, originally uploaded by Vitrearum.The tiny thirteenth century church at Aston Sandford in Buckinghamshire has a single panel of medieval glass, a glorious figure of Christ in Majesty labelled as 'Salvator Mundi'...
- A Defaced Medieval Reredos - Notgrove, Gloucestershire
The east wall behind the high altar of the tiny little estate church at Notgrove in Gloucestershire is generally covered with a large tapestry, which was made in 1954. If you pull it up, and there is a little pulley to help you, you reveal this: the...