Last Thursday we took a day trip up north to Worcestershire and Herefordshire, English counties not too far from the Welsh border.
Pershore Abbey
Our first stop was Pershore Abbey, because it was on the way and I had an article on it that needed pictures. We didn't stay long, but it was pretty cool on the outside and had some interesting features on the inside.
It looks rather stubby because it was once a huge abbey church, but then the nave and one of the transepts were demolished at the Reformation. What's left is now used as a parish church. The west side where the nave used to be is supported by modern struts to keep it from toppling over.
The inside is very Gothic and swoopy, with very nice vaults:
And the ceiling has a few surprises for those with good eyesight and/or a zoom lens:
Of the dozen or so roof bosses in the nave, we spotted Green Men in three of them. There may be more!
Worcester
Next stop was Worcester Cathedral. Unfortunately I don't know much about it since I haven't written an article for it yet, but it was large and impressive. It also had a very nice riverside location.
When we arrived, there was a degree ceremony happening in the cathedral and we enjoyed watching a procession of robed dignitaries on their way:
Note the beard on the right!
Before checking out the cathedral we went in search of lunch. And we ended up eating it in a church! It had been converted into a restaurant with the funny name of The Slug and the Lettuce. It's actually part of a chain and I'd been wanting to try it anyway, so it worked out great!
(David had a southern-fried chicken wrap and I had a BBQ baguette. They were good.)
Bellies full and happy, we set about our cathedral exploration. The degree ceremony was a bit of an inconvenience, but it did mean there were bleachers set up to give us a higher view on things.
View down the nave.
Part of the big west window, sadly with modern glass but pretty nevertheless.
A head-scratcher in a corner near the west window.
More interesting roof bosses - medieval, but recently repainted.
The tomb of King John - the one who was forced to sign the Magna Carta.
The lion chewing on his sword represents his loss of power.
This was probably my favorite feature in the cathedral - a large chantry chapel holding the tomb of a medieval prince named Arthur.
It is covered in lovely small sculptures, which were smashed by the hammers of Puritans at the Civil War.
And downstairs is a Norman crypt, the oldest part of the cathedral.
Kilpeck
Our daylight fading (it's sad how little of it there is these days), we headed for our next destination, which was over an hour further west. This is Kilpeck Church, which I have been wanting to visit for many, many months.
It doesn't look like much, but it's all about the details! Kilpeck is home to the biggest and best collection of Romanesque sculpture in Britain, and it all dates from about 1140. It seems to have been influenced by what a local man saw in southwest France while on a pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela, but it also has lots of Celtic, Saxon and Viking influences. It is seriously cool, and it's something of a miracle that it survived completely intact through the Reformation and the Civil War, when so much church art was destroyed.
First of all, the entire roofline around the church is decorated with about 80 sculptured corbels. Some topics seem fairly random, a few have a theme connected with those around them, but the exact interpretations of most of them remain a mystery. They are so interesting! Below are a few of my favorites.
Aren't these cute? They look like something out of Disney. But honestly, they were carved 850 years ago.
These are all next to each other in this order, and are believed to be a visual summary of Christian salvation. From left: the Devil (with wicked smile); the Devil's effect on man (beastly and unhappy); Christ comes along (represented by the common Agnus Dei symbol, only here the lamb is replaced by a horse!); man is more human and happier.
