endlessrarities: (Default)
[personal profile] endlessrarities
A return to Wenlock Priory now, and today I'm featuring the lavabo, an unusual feature which sits in the middle of the cloisters.  It would have been been used by the monks as a place for washing their hands prior to eating.  They're commonly found in monastic contexts across continental Europe, but are rare finds in the UK.
The current structure dates to 1220, and it reuses part of an earlier mid- to late- 12th century predecessor.  The original would have been a three-tiered structure arranged around a central upper cistern, which fed a trough equipped with sixteen spouts which discharged into a lower trough where the monks would wash.




The structure was once adorned with a number of carved panels, manufactured from a high quality local limestone known as 'Wenlock limestone'.  The subjects were suitably religious, featuring Christ and the apostles.  The panel below features John (the Evangelist, I presume - since he's looking suitably studious), and another unknown apostle:-




The other panel features Christ calling Peter and Andrew, who are on a boat on the Sea of Galilee, with James and John in another boat to the rear:-



The whole structure was buried beneath a mound of earth until 1878, when it was  excavated.  The original panels have been removed indoors to protect them from the ravages of the weather, so unfortunately these are replicas, but to me that seems a much better option than leaving the medieval versions out to slowly decay.

Profile

endlessrarities: (Default)
endlessrarities

January 2013

S M T W T F S
  1 234 5
6789101112
13141516171819
202122 232425 26
2728293031  

Most Popular Tags

Style Credit

Expand Cut Tags

No cut tags
Page generated Jul. 11th, 2025 02:46 pm
Powered by Dreamwidth Studios