Tag: photography

Misericords of St Laurence – Part I

The Parish Church in Ludlow is famous for its 15th century misericords in the chancel stalls. These ignored carvings are found underneath choir stall seats and are mostly found in areas of the country whose wealth came from the medieval wool trade. The largest collection is housed at Salisbury Cathedral (106) compared to Hereford Cathedral (40) and the 28 intricately carved designs here in Ludlow.

Finally I have managed to get some decent photos of them all, so let me introduce you to them:

North Side 1 – 5

N1: There are several interpretations of this one. A scold wearing an outrageous horned head-dress or hennin being ridiculed, though the woman does not wear the scold’s bridle so it may represent street entertainment. It may also be a warning against misplaced vanity.

N1

N2: The central corbel is the form of a Harpy, a young woman’s head being given the body and wings of a bat. Her supporters are bats – creatures of darkness and symbolic evil. This could be a cautionary tale about women using their charms to tempt a man aka Adam and Eve.

N2
N2

N3: This is Ludlow’s most famous one and shows a dishonest alewife who has given short measure and has been thrown over the shoulder of the devil. A demon, Tutivillus on the left reads a long list of her misdemeanours. Another devil  plays the bagpipes to serenade her journey to the gaping mouth of Hell shown on the right.

N3
N3

N4: My favourite. A mermaid holds a mirror in one hand and a now missing comb in her left. Two dolphins add to the theme. Yet another anti-feminine theme, the mermaid or siren being symbolic of the woman luring men away from the path of salvation.

N4
N4

N5: A scene of domestic discord involving three male figures. The one on the right is trying to restrain the other two, whilst a cauldron bubbles away on the hearth. The kite-shaped leaf on the right is typically found on the Ludlow misericords and a stylised foliage often used in court manuscripts. The whole of the carving represents one of the seven sins – Anger.

N5
N5

Source of text: Historic Ludlow ” The Misericords and Choir Stalls” by Peter Klein (1986)

The Parish Church of St Laurence, Ludlow

Ludlow’s church can be seen from miles around due to its large tower. The original church was started in 1199 and added to in the fourteenth century with a decorated hexagonal porch. The chancel and the nave were built in the perpendicular style in the early 15th century.  It was one of only 18 churches given a five-star rating in England’s Thousand Greatest Churches by Simon Jenkins (1999) and is described as the “Cathedral of the Marches”

St Laurence Church

An important body in the town was the Palmers’ Guild which began around 1250 as a mutual benefit society, but later concerns were with provision for the after-life. By using the name Palmer, the Guild associated itself with pilgrimage to the Holy Land and a window in the Guild’s own chapel of St John the Evangelist depicts a legend that attributes the foundations of the Guild to Edward the Confessor. The town’s economy and medieval prosperity came from  wool.

I have been promising to show more images of the interior so let’s have a look around and you will see why I find this building so beautiful and how it connects the present town of Ludlow to its historical political importance (Wars of the Roses) and economical past.

Carvings
Tomb
Pulpit

Continue reading The Parish Church of St Laurence, Ludlow

Bench series #36

For the month of September I’m looking for a Metal bench 

little italy SD
Little Italy San Diego, USA

If you would like to join in with the Bench photo challenge then please take a look at my Bench Series page. No complicated rules, just a bench and a camera required 🙂

  • Create your own post and title it Bench Series: September
  • Include a link to this page in your post so others can find it too
  • Add the tag ‘bench series’ so everyone can find the benches easily in the WP Reader
  • Get your post in by the end of the month, as the new bench theme comes out on the first Sunday in October.

My Picks of the Week:

Elaine has a colourful bench for you from last week as does Ruth in Tasmania though Tgeriatrix stretches the definition of what IS a bench. Violetsky comes up with yet another sculptural bench, but the question seems to be “Is it comfortable?” and Debbie finds a stack of rainbow benches. A final cheerful ‘in your face‘ red delight from Pauline downunder ends the month of colour. Thanks to all who participated, I really enjoyed your finds.

Bench series #35

For the month of August I’m looking for a colourful bench

(This month I want to see photos of a bench that is painted or stained or otherwise coloured in some way. Not the plain wooden variety unless there is some colour detail)

Snowshill Manor
A Wade Blue bench and Astronomical Clock at Snowshill Manor in the Cotswolds, Worcestershire

If you would like to join in with the Bench photo challenge then please take a look at my Bench Series page. No complicated rules, just a bench and a camera required 🙂

  • Create your own post and title it Bench Series: August
  • Include a link to this page in your post so others can find it too
  • Add the tag ‘bench series’ so everyone can find the benches easily in the WP Reader
  • Get your post in by the end of the month, as the new bench theme comes out on the first Sunday in September.

This is the last week for your colourful benches, next Sunday we start looking for metal ones.

My Picks of the Week:

Meg has an odd one for us this week, she thinks it is a bench. See what you think. Meanwhile Tgeriatrix has the most unusual and colourful benches I have ever seen! These benches just get better and better. VioletSky has a couple for us this week, some very bright ones and a floating one. And Pauline has a bit of a rude one for us this week.

As always there are so many delightful benches to view, I hope you will check out the other links within the comment section.