The Archaeology of Ritual and Magic. Ralph Merrifield, Batsford, 1987 The Daddy of them all. ‘ what is needed is an open mind and appreciation of the great diversity of human behaviour’ In 1987, Ralph Merrifield, retired archaeologist and recognised authority on Roman London, set out to publish, for the first time, a systematic review…
All Saints’ Church was built of limestone and cobbles between the 13th and 15th centuries. It stands on a slight rise in the ground above the village of Sutton. Perhaps fortunately, the interior has seen little by way of modernisation. Violet Pritchard, in her book English Medieval Graffiti, concentrates on only one graffito in the…
All Saints’ Church in Shillington occupies a commanding position on a hill with excellent views of the surrounding countryside. This was my first Bedfordshire church on a trip where I set out to follow in the footsteps of Violet Pritchard, one of the pioneers in the field of English medieval graffiti. Talking a campervan up…
St Andrew’s, Wormingford, Essex Wormingford, in North Essex has its own version of the George and the Dragon story. In Wormingford’s case, however, it is not Saint George, but Sir George of Layer de la Haye who slew, not a dragon but an escaped ‘cokadrille’ or crocodile. This ‘dragoun’, a gift to Richard I for…
St Laurence, Ridgewell, Essex (1/2) The fine, light church of St Laurence has stood in the village of Ridgewell in Essex since the 14th century. The village is close to the WW2 airbase of RAF Ridgewell. The base was the home of No 90 Squadron of Bomber Command until 1943 when the USAAF Eighth Air…
St Mary’s Priory, Little Dunmow, Essex (2/3) In the previous post of St Mary’s Priory in Little Dunmow, we looked at the graffiti round the doorway and the first two columns. This revealed the first of two graffiti described in Pritchard’s English Medieval Graffiti. The rest of the graffiti in the church is on…
St Mary’s Priory, Little Dunmow, Essex (1/3) St Mary’s Priory, Little Dunmow is a strange church. The windows on the north side are wildly out of proportion to those on the south and the tower looks like someone stole an italian campanile and glued it to one corner. Inside, there is an arcade of…
St Martin, Little Waltham, Essex The church of St Martin at Little Waltham dates back to the Normans, but was rebuilt extensively in the 15th century. There is no graffiti visible anywhere in the church, but some if to be found on the north side of the tower arch. There, divided by a modern partition…
St Mary and St Clement, Clavering, Essex (3/4) Rood-loft Stairs Doorway To the south side of the chancel arch is a small doorway opening on to the stairs to the rood-loft. This is where Violet Pritchard found the short inscription, Amor Vincit omnia (love conquers all), which she records in her book ‘English Medieval Graffiti’….
St Mary and St Clement, Clavering, Essex (1/4) The chancel of St Mary and St Clement was built in the late 14th century. The rest of the church was built at the end of the 14th and beginning of the 15th centuries. The roof is original, with angel carvings. The screen has traces of saints…
St Andrews Church, Great Yeldham, Essex St Andrews church in Great Yeldham, Essex appears in Violet Pritchard’s English Medieval Graffiti. Unfortunately, the three intertwined fish she describes cannot be seen. All the columns and piers have been whitewashed, so this may be hiding the design. A compass drawn quatrefoil is clearly visible on one of…
St Mary the Virgin, Lindsell, Essex This is a pretty, but odd-shaped church. It is wider than it is long with the tower in one corner. It is originally Norman with a simple round chancel arch with a large squint on the south side. A large column stands beside the font. The column and the…
St Mary the Virgin, Elsenham, Essex St Mary the Virgin is a charming church, close to Stansted Airport, out of the village of Elsenham and up a single-track lane. Pevsner praises its Norman windows and doorway. It was visited by Violet Pritchard, who noted some text with a face carved into the capital letter. There…