The last of my summer's abbey visits and this time it was Sherborne which is built out of the most fabulous honey coloured sandstone. As ever I have mainly snapped the details which caught my eye as we wandered around with any additional information included where appropriate.
There are hundreds of years between these two stained glass windows, but each are stunning. Am loving those medieval hats....wonder what they'd make of our fascinators or the bucket hat😂
Small inclusions like the rings on this lady's fingers give us an insight into the fashions of the time and how those who could afford it were wearing their jewellery.
The carving of this cranberry glass rederos is next level. It was done by Laurence Whistler in 1968 and it bears a second look because the engraving is incredible. Those angel wings💗
People often quip that nothing is new. Flooding has been around since the time of Noah [allegedly] and this report gives a full account of one such incident in 1709. There's a goodly crop of long ss in there.
Misericords are always fascinating for the spectrum of material they record. I feel blessed to have seen examples showing everyday life, folklore and religious scenes, but the first one has me foxed. There is little doubt about the second one...it looks like one of the young monks has stepped out of line and boy is that cudgel going to hurt!!
Looking at this you might imagine that you are looking at a bone skull. It is actually carved from sycamore by Martin Turner, but the abbey is famous for housing two sets of bones....
These skeletons are believed to be the remains of King Ethelbald and King Ethelbert. They were the older brothers of Alfred the Great. I do feel that Alfred's family have been following me around this year as I have encountered his jewel in Oxford, his son and daughter in Romsey, his grandson in Malmesbury and himself in Winchester. Only this week have I found that we have a local connection to him because his father Ethelwulf died and was buried in the original wooden Saxon church in Steyning in 858AD.His body was later transferred to Winchester. The whereabouts of father and son are no longer known. Funny old world isn't it.
There are no more plans to visit any abbeys, but plans can change....
Arilx
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