The Herefordshire School of Carvers

In the church of St Michael, Castle Frome, Herefordshire is a magnificently carved Norman font. It is the product of a group of sculptors who carved distinctive fonts and other objects within the county. They date from the twelfth century and incorporate a number of styles - Anglo-Saxon, Norse (Viking), Benedictine, Western France and Northern Italy. The font in Castle Frome is probably one of their last works, perhaps carved c.1150. The top of the font exhibits bold plaiting and the lower features interlace. In between are figures of the Evangelists and scenes telling the story of the baptism of Christ. St Luke holding a book is prominent in the photograph. At the base, in a different type of stone are three disfigured crouching creatures.

photo © T. Boughen     Camera: Nikon Z 5

Bronze Norman door knockers

In 1986 I photographed the ornate, bronze sanctuary knocker on the door of Durham Cathedral (above). It was a replica in place of the original that had been there from 1172 until 1977. The purpose of the knocker, as described on the Durham World Heritage Site website was as follows - "Those who ‘had committed a great offence,’ such as murder in self-defence or breaking out of prison, could rap the knocker, and would be given 37 days of sanctuary within which they could try to reconcile with their enemies or plan their escape."

I was reminded of this well-known Norman metal work on a recent visit to the church of St Peter, Dormington in Herefordshire. It also has an ancient door knocker that dates from the 1100s and it too is a replica. The original is held in the Treasury at Hereford Cathedral.

photo © T. Boughen     Camera: Olympus OM 1n

photo © T. Boughen     Camera: Nikon Z 5

Repaired FZ1000 2

I recently had an email from someone who said they'd noticed that in recent months I was using my Lumix FZ1000 2 pretty much to the exclusion of my other cameras. That's true and the reason is that during last year it developed an intermittent then a more regular fault: namely it sometimes refused to change focal lengths by either of the two methods available to the user. Not until that occurred at a frequency that enabled me to show it to the store I bought it from, and let them experience the problem, did I do anything about it. They sent it for repair which took a month. Since then I've been keen to confirm that the repair is long lasting by using the camera a lot. I'm now at the point where I'm confident it has been properly fixed.

Today's photograph is one in my continuing series of interesting cafe interiors. Groin vaulting, blank arcades of the Norman period, and a floor made of massive tiles of great age are just a few of the attractions in this cafe located in the former cloisters of Worcester Cathedral.

photo © T. Boughen     Camera: Lumix FZ1000 2

The Ruardean St George

The church at Ruardean, Gloucestershire, is dedicated to St John the Baptist. So it is quite unusual that the largest and oldest piece of sculpture portrays St George killing the dragon. This can be seen in the tympanum of the mid-C12 Norman doorway sheltered by the south porch. It is in the style of the Herefordshire school of sculpture and comparisons have been made with work at Brinsop, Herefordshire, and western France. The sculptor gave the piece an animated, vigorous feel with its billowing cloak, trampled dragon (very serpent-like) and powerful thrust of the spear.

photo © T. Boughen     Camera: Lumix FZ1000 2

Leominster capitals

The west doorway of Leominster Priory (it is also also the Parish Church of St Peter and St Paul) has capitals that are carved in the manner of the Herefordshire School of stone carving (see Eardisley font). Consequently they must have been carved c1140-1150. My photograph shows details of the south capitals that feature affronted birds, bending men in "beehive" hats cutting leaves, and serpents, as well as ropework, bead and other typical Norman decoration. The detail has lasted remarkably well considering it has been subject to nine hundred years of English weather.

The doorway itself has three orders of shafts,  a hoodmould with chevron ornament, more chevron on the second order, and remarkably, arches that are slightly pointed rather than the usual semicircles of this period.

photo © T. Boughen     Camera: Lumix FZ1000 2

Norman Font, Eardisley, Herefordshire

One of the most magnificent church fonts in all England can be found in St Mary Magdalene, Eardisley, in Herefordshire. It was carved c1150 and depicts two knights fighting with sword and spear (the latter piercing a thigh), the Harrowing of Hell (including a lion), God the Father, and Christ. Weaving through the figure carving are sinuous tendrils. The top of the font has a plaited band. On the stem is rope moulding and an interlaced knot pattern. The quality and style of the work shows it to be a product of the Herefordshire School of stone carving. Some other nearby churches have carving of similar quality and style dating from the same period.

photo © T. Boughen     Camera: Lumix FZ1000 2

Nave, Peterborough Cathedral

Peterborough Cathedral is, arguably, the UK's best, most overlooked, cathedral. Its eastern location, relatively remote from the main centres of population militate against it, as does its location in a city off the tourists' itineraries. But, at every turn, the building offers delights and treasures. It is a former monastery that, after successive rebuildings achieved, by 1238, essentially the structure that we see today. The nave is a fine piece of Norman construction. The bowl of the font dates from the C13 and was recovered in 1820 from a canon's nearby garden. After being combined with a purpose-made stem it became a permanent feature of the cathedral.

photos © T. Boughen     Camera: Olympus OMD E-M10

St Mary the Virgin, Upleadon, Gloucestershire

The church of St Mary at Upleadon, Gloucestershire stands about a mile from the centre of the village next to an old farm. The nave is of the Late Norman period i.e. c.1150 and a round-arched doorway of that time can be seen in the photograph. For the church architecture enthusiast the striking feature of its exterior is the tower, a structure of probably c.1500. It stands on a stone plinth with, above, a timber frame of close studding filled with bricks on all but the east face which is stone.

The pyramidal cap is of green slate. Unusually, the timber frame has no exterior diagonal bracing. Inside the building the framing is visible - cross bracing, heavy timbers, and a belfry floor. The building was closed when we visited but we will return during its brief open period. Incidentally, the dry spring and summer, with attendant high temperatures continues and the sheep in this seemed to have about as little energy as we did.

photos © T. Boughen     Camera: Olympus OMD E-M10

Architectural fragments

Tucked away in a covered corner of Hereford Cathedral is something that can be seen in many such buildings, churches and ruined monastic buildings - a pile of architectural framents. These have often been dug up having been buried in the grounds of the building for centuries. Others have been "re-purposed" as infill rubble when old work is replaced by new or extensions have been built, again, often centuries ago. This particular pile features pieces of scallop capitals, Norse-influenced interlace, chevron etc, mainly from the period of the Anglo-Romanesque, i.e. from approximately the ninth or tenth centuries to the twelfth century.

photo © T. Boughen     Camera: Sony DSC-RX100     2017

St Mary, Kempley

The small Norman church of St Mary at Kempley in Gloucestershire lies some way from the village's main cluster of buildings. An early twentieth century church of architectural significance now stands there, and St Mary's has been left in the care of English Heritage and is managed by the Friends of Kempley Church. The structure has the oldest timber roof of any building in England, and the chancel and nave feature some of the best preserved medieval wall paintings in Britain.

photo © T. Boughen     Camera: Olympus OMD E-M10