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Shrewsbury Churches - ii)
Nov. 1st, 2011 07:26 pmAnother post dedicated to the Church of Saint Mary the Virgin now.
As I mentioned previously, this church has seen serious reconstruction through the centuries. One of its more unusual features, the E window, isn't even part of the original church fabric.
This is the Jessye window, which visually represents the family line of Jesus as a tree, tracing His ancestry back to Adam. Such imagery would have been common in medieval churches, but most examples will have been destroyed during the Reformation.
This particular Jessye window was once incorporated into Old St Chad's church (featured previously) but even this may not be its original location. In fact, it's thought to have had its origins in the chapel attached to the Greyfriars friary.
But it's now been rehoused in the Church of Saint Mary the Virgin, where it can be seen (not very clearly in this photo!) in the east end of the chancel:-
Many of the church's original features have been erased throughout the centuries by later works, but some still survive, such as this arched opening in the chancel. According to the guide book ( The Church of St Mary the Virgin, Shrewsbury, Shropshire, by Peter Williams (Churches Conservation Trust) this represents the remains of a sedilia, i.e. a priest's seat:-
As I mentioned previously, this church has seen serious reconstruction through the centuries. One of its more unusual features, the E window, isn't even part of the original church fabric.
This is the Jessye window, which visually represents the family line of Jesus as a tree, tracing His ancestry back to Adam. Such imagery would have been common in medieval churches, but most examples will have been destroyed during the Reformation.
This particular Jessye window was once incorporated into Old St Chad's church (featured previously) but even this may not be its original location. In fact, it's thought to have had its origins in the chapel attached to the Greyfriars friary.
But it's now been rehoused in the Church of Saint Mary the Virgin, where it can be seen (not very clearly in this photo!) in the east end of the chancel:-
Many of the church's original features have been erased throughout the centuries by later works, but some still survive, such as this arched opening in the chancel. According to the guide book ( The Church of St Mary the Virgin, Shrewsbury, Shropshire, by Peter Williams (Churches Conservation Trust) this represents the remains of a sedilia, i.e. a priest's seat:-
My next post will introduce you to some of the architectural oddities which can be spotted around the place. Here's a sneak preview, looking south-east towards the south transept:-
