![]() Its simple decoration matches that of the south door and is clearly contemporary, It is not clear whether the entirety of the chancel beyond the arch is Norman. Can there be a better example of the contrast between two men working at the same time at the same church, one an artist, the other an enthusiastic bodger? The north carving is an odd one that I will discuss later.Īll this excitement and we’re not even inside yet! The chancel arch too is early Norman. Above that is another tympanum carving - on the inside of the doorway! Was it originally on the outside? It has a design that imitates the human carving inside the south door and certainly does not seem to be the work of the man who carved the south tympanum. As you look through this south doorway you see the north door immediately in line. Why? For the hell of it, I suppose! It is yet another demonstration of the inscrutability of the minds of mediaeval masons and their patrons. however, the masons have carved a little human. One might say that there is a certain self-conscious dignity about it that reflects the quality of the tympanum that adorns it. It is tall and narrow - resembling an Anglo-Saxon doorway in fact - but it is finely executed. We can confidently place it within the first three or four decades on the twelfth century after which tympani became somewhat - but not totally - unfashionable. There is none of the tentativeness of the general mason-turned-carver here. This is a work of strident, confident art: there is symmetry and clarity and the sculptor has had the confidence to carve deep into the stone. A Tree of Life, its branches all beautifully interlaced, has a dog - for once we can be fairly sure that is what they are - on either side. Many Norman tympani are crude and difficult to understand but Wordwell’s is a fine piece of sculpture. Confronting you is a tall, narrow south doorway surmounted by a very striking carved Norman tympanum. When you enter the porch, though, you get a shock. There is a neatness to the window tracery and a general sense of good order. ![]() The timbered porch is a pretty little thing. If you are in the area you must visit West Stow and if you visit West Stow you must visit Wordwell Church which is in the care of the Churches Conservation Trust.Īs you can see from the picture left, it is a neat little church, almost chocolate-boxy (do they still make those big boxes of chocolates with pretty pictures on the lid?). We were on our way to the reconstructed early Anglo-Saxon village at West Stow when we saw a signpost for this church only a mile or so away and went to have a look. I was going to say “English” word but in fact it derives from Sri Lanka Anyway, our discovery of Wordwell Church was serendipitous. “Serendipity” - fortunate discovery - is one of my favourite words. Please sign my Guestbook and leave feedbackĭedication : All Saints Simon Jenkins: Excluded Principal Features : Two Norman tympani Magnificent Wood Carving
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