While preparing yesterday's collage of the murals at Helmsley Church, I thought I would post a collage today of the wall paintings in Pickering Church, which is located some 12 miles east of Helmsley.
The wall paintings in Pickering Church are far older than those of Helmsley. From the style of costumes worn, experts have estimated they were painted around 1470AD. Those included in this collage are a small selection of dozens of scenes painted on the walls of the nave, and which create an inspiring view as you enter the church.
In the late 1500s and early 1600s puritanism swept through the Church of England, and at some point during this period the wall paintings were painted over.
During the course of repair work in 1852, the nave wall paintings came to light, although others had been seen - and destroyed - in the transepts and possibly the chancel by the Vicar at the time, Revd John Ponsonby. Ponsonby was a conservative cleric who was horrified by the Catholic imagery of the paintings, and ordered them to be re-whitewashed, against the instructions of the Archbishop of York and much to the dismay of his parishioners and antiquarians.
A major restoration of the church was carried out by the Revd George Herbert Lightfoot at a cost of £7000 in the 1870s, completed in 1879. In 1882, Lightfoot embarked on the restoration of the paintings. Sadly, the original pigments of the medieval paintings had been damaged beyond repair and he decided to repaint the entire scheme with the help of the artist, Edward Holmes Jewitt. Analysis of the paintings and surviving records reveals that although some details were added, the iconography of the paintings was not altered.
The selection of images in this collage show the Coronation of the Virgin (top left), the martyrdom of Saint John the Baptist (top right), St George on horseback spearing the dragon (bottom left), the martyrdom of Saint Edmund in AD870 (bottom centre) and a hermit with a lantern (bottom right).
Thank you all for your lovely comments, they are very much appreciated.
These paintings are a remarkable survival, though the condition of some of them is showing signs of deterioration. They give a fascinating insight not only into the beliefs of the creators, but into the times in which they were created.
Ian
March 10th, 2024
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Thank you all for your lovely comments, they are very much appreciated.
These paintings are a remarkable survival, though the condition of some of them is showing signs of deterioration. They give a fascinating insight not only into the beliefs of the creators, but into the times in which they were created.
Ian