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Aidan McRae Thomson
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St Mary's, Kempley
St Mary's, Kempley

The timber ceiling over the nave seen here is the 12th century original and thus likely to be the oldest surviving wooden roof in the country.

The old church of St Mary at Kempley no longer functions as the parish church of the village being some distance from the main part of it (where a 20th century building now fulfils its role). It is now maintained by English Heritage as a site of national importance, which may seem puzzling when one is confronted by the humble exterior of this building, but is made much more apparent once one steps inside.

The church is a simple two-cell structure of nave and chancel, unchanged since the Norman period aside from a couple of later windows inserted into the side walls of the nave to lighten the interior. The squat tower at the west end is a 13th century addition (hiding the original Norman west doorway within) and doesn't rise much above roof level. The south wall has been given a coat of pink limewash in recent years, a reminder that many churches had such an external shelter coat in medieval times to protect the stonework.

One enters through the Norman doorway (with foliate tympanum) on the south side and finds oneself in the delightfully rustic space of the nave, the walls of which retain significant sections of medieval wall-painting. However this should be considered as a starter for the main course awaiting in the darker and more mysterious space beyond the chancel arch, for here the murals are much older and much more complete.

The chancel at Kempley is what makes this church justly famous, and is perhaps the most complete vision we have of what the interior decoration of a Norman church must have looked like. By good fortune the chancel was provided with a barrel vault which allowed the painting to spread seamlessly from wall to ceiling, with Christ in majesty surrounded by the four evangelists' symbols and the twelve apostles seated forming the main focus of the design, all against a warm red background. The colours have faded somewhat as have many of the faces of the figures but what survives is an impressive piece of Romanesque art and a remarkable glimpse back into the 12th century.

St Mary's is normally open to visitors and well worth seeing, I've not seen another church quite like it.

For more detail and open hours see below:-
www.english-heritage.org.uk/visit/places/st-marys-church-...

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Taken on: September 15, 2018
Tags: Everybody's photos tagged with Kempley Kempley Everybody's photos tagged with church church Everybody's photos tagged with Gloucestershire Gloucestershire more » Everybody's photos tagged with Norman Norman Everybody's photos tagged with Romanesque Romanesque Everybody's photos tagged with architecture architecture « less
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Camera: Panasonic DMC-TZ60, f/4.0, 0.6 sec, 4.3mm, ISO 100 (more info) (hide info)
Camera: Panasonic DMC-TZ60
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St Mary's, Kempley

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