Monday, 28 November 2016

Wall paintings in Stratford's Guild Chapel

Recently I came across this article, which describes (and pictures) the wall paintings in the Guild chapel of Stratford-upon-Avon. Like most medieval churches, the chapel's walls were originally covered with murals depicting life, death, heaven, hell, and everything in between. At the Reformation the murals were destroyed, or, as was the case at Stratford, painted over. Recent restoration work in the Guild chapel has uncovered the wall paintings, which, depending on whom you read, are either "some of the finest in Europe" (Daily Mail) or "far from masterpieces, but... show[ing]... medieval England in thrall to devils and death" (The Guardian).

(The Daily Mail gets further carried away, proclaiming that the murals were personally painted over by John Shakespeare, father of the famous William - on the grounds that he was bailiff of Stratford in 1563, when Henry VIII ordered the paintings removed. William Shakespeare was born the following year, 1564, so sadly he never saw the paintings.)

The Daily Mail article has the best images, but here are a few more pages commenting on the wall paintings:



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