The West Front, Lincoln Cathedral.

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Bishop Remigius, Cathedrals, Church architecture, Church of England., Churches, Lincoln Cathedral, medieval, Medieval England, Middle Ages, Norman, Romanesque, stone, stone carving, West Front Lincoln Cathedral

According to “Harris’s Guide to Churches & Cathedrals“, “The West front was built 1075 – 92 by Bishop Remigius and has been partially covered by a later Gothic screen”. Lincoln Cathedral’s website informs me that Bishop Remigius was a Benedictine monk and the first Norman Bishop of Lincoln, the largest Diocese in Medieval England.

Medieval Floor Tiles, Winchester Cathedral.

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13th Century, Cathedrals, ceramic floor tiles, ceramics, Church architecture, Church of England., Churches, fleur de lis, floor, medieval, tiles, Winchester, Winchester Cathedral

To quote from the Cathedral’s website, “These gorgeous 13th century floor tiles, their rich colours still glowing, form part of the largest surviving spread of medieval decorated floor tiles inside any building in England. You can see the tiles where they were first laid, and even walk on them, in the Retrochoir at the far end of the Cathedral“.

The Three Kings of Cologne Chapel, The John Foster Almshouse, Bristol, 21/08/14.

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almshouse, Bristol, Burgundian Gothic, chapels, Cologne, Hotel Dieu Beaune, John Foster, John Foster's Almshouse Bristol, medieval, The Three Kings of Cologne Chapel Bristol

The Three Kings in the niches are by Ernest Pascoe.

According to About Bristol.Co.UK, the Medieval Bristol Merchant, John Foster , was a frequent visitor to Germany and dedicated the chapel to “The Three Kings of Cologne” after visiting Cologne Cathedral, which has its own chapel of The Three Kings.  Cologne Cathedral’s website describes it more accurately as a shrine, the centre piece of which would have been the largest and most artistically important reliquary of the Middle Ages, containing the relics of the The Three Kings (aka The Three Wise Men aka The Magi), so I imagine it made a big impression of Foster.

John Foster’s coat of arms can also be seen on the front of the Chapel.

The Chapel sits in the grounds of the John Foster’s Almshouses, built in the 1480s, but completely rebuilt in the ” flamboyant Burgundian style embellished by turrets and tall brick chimneys” by another John Foster in the 19th Century.

Looking at Buildings.Org informs me that rebuild was the work of a firm called Foster & Wood and that the “fanciful Burgundian Gothic” style of the Almshouses was inspired by the Hotel Dieu in Beaune, which I’d never heard of but looks quite remarkable.

John Foster’s Almshouse with the Chapel of The Three Kings on the right.

A Depiction of Joachim and St. Anne in Stained Glass, Holy Trinity Church, York.

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Churches, grandparents, Holy Trinity Church York, Joachim, medieval, St Anne, St Mary, stained glass.

This stained glass panel, rather than depicting the traditional Holy Family (the infant Christ, the Blessed Virgin Mother and Saint Joseph), depicts Jesus Christ’s maternal grandparents. Joachim, Mary’s father, stands with his arms around his daughter, crowned on his right, and his wife, Saint Anne, her wimpled head surrounded a halo. At their feet stands the infant Christ. Note how young the Blessed Virgin looks in this Medieval depiction; you certainly would not recognise her if all you had to go on were the later Renaissance works of Leonardo Da Vinci or Raphael.

Photo Archive: Man and Beast, The Stonebow, Lincoln, September 2012.

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Lincoln, medieval, mythical creatures, stone carving, Stonebow Lincoln

Photo Archive: Tower of London c.2007.

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historical re-enactment group, historical re-enactment., London, medieval, Tower of London

I rediscovered this photograph of a Medieval historical re-enactment group in a file from 2008 and remember the circumstances, albeit not the exact details of the re-enactment, because I have only visited the Tower of London once, despite being a regular visitor to London:

Very chivalrous, although, a sketch of the re-enactment in one of my old sketch books shows a much more violent part of the proceedings:

 

The drawing is dated August 2007, so I must have copied it from a photograph I subsequently deleted or have hidden in some yet to be rediscovered album. Sadly, I haven’t been able to find any further information relating to the re-enactment in front of the famous White Tower, so we’ll just have to use our imaginations.