Ludlow, St Laurence Church: Windows

The Parish Church of Ludlow is crammed behind surrounding buildings so that although you can see the impressive tower from miles around, the actual church is quite hidden.

Inside it is full of history, a perpendicular Gothic delight with medieval stained glass, choir stalls and misericords, chapels and tombs and even the burial-place of Prince Arthur’s heart, who died in Ludlow and altered the course of history.

The West Window, showing the Lords of Ludlow Castle and ending with the unfortunate Prince Arthur.

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The Palmers Window in St John’s Chapel shows a version of the legend of King Edward the Confessor and St John the Evangelist. The story is told in eight panels and centres round the Ludlow Palmers making a pilgrimage to the Holy Land

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Detail from the Jesse Window (restored to the original colours and design) in Lady Chapel

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The Annunciation or Golden Window with St Catherine and her wheel (L) and St Christopher (R)

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Window in St Catherine’s Chapel

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And finally a window in the unusual octagonal porch

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This weekly challenge is hosted by Dawn from ‘The Day After’ who invites participants to post pictures of any windows that  they find curious, inviting, photogenic, or in some way tell a story. Visit her blog to see more windows and/or to join in with the challenge.

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Heyjude

I have lived in the UK for most of my life, but when young I definitely had wanderlust and even ended up living in South Africa for several years which was a wonderful experience. I now look forward to a long and leisurely retirement doing what I like most - gardening, photography, walking and travelling.

35 thoughts on “Ludlow, St Laurence Church: Windows”

  2. Some wonderful examples of stained glass windows here Jude. Ludlow seems to be the gift that never stops giving. Just a shame it doesn’t have a beach as well!
    Regards as always, Pete. x

    1. After almost three years I am starting to think I have photographed every inch of it! But I’ll see what is happening over the weekend 🙂

    1. The craftsmanship that went into these buildings 600 years ago is astonishing. They were built to last.

    1. That Palmer’s window is pretty amazing. You can stand and look at it for ages. The last panel (where the close-up is from) is of the Palmer’s feast.
      Have a good weekend too – hope it stays sunny. We are off to explore Hereford or maybe Leominster.

  9. OK. What’s the trick? My stained glass photos always look faded rather than rich and full of light. I think my favourite is the non-figurative last one. I find Christian iconography (?) daunting, because I’m ignorant, although you do a great job of explaining.

    1. Ha, you should see the ones in the trash! And this is not the first time I have tried to photograph these windows! I have found that I need to adjust the lighting a LOT – increase mid-tones and darken highlights to increase the depth of colour and amount of detail. They’d probably be sharper if I used a tripod too as the light inside a church is always dim, but that’s probably frowned upon.

    1. They are quite magnificent aren’t they? It’s like being in a cathedral – quite unusual for such a small market town, but Ludlow was once VERY important and this church was rebuilt in the XV century by wealthy guilds of Ludlow merchants.

        1. I will write a post with photos of the chapels and tombs and the chancel, then you will have seen it all 🙂

          And maybe I’ll pluck up the courage to climb all the steps of the tower for the view!

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