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SOUTHERN AND SOUTH WEST ENGLAND

Paradoxplace BRITISH ABBEYS AND CATHEDRALS

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Church of St Nicholas, Barfreston (Kent)

The little church of St Nicholas, Barfreston, lies in a tiny hamlet (with an attractive pub) just off the A2 road from Canterbury to Dover.  It was thus loosely on the pilgrims roads to Canterbury and Rome.  It dates from the latter 1100s and the walls are built from a mixture of locally sourced broken flint stone, and blocks of stone from Caen.  It has a fine display of original (mostly) corbels, a beautiful "wagon wheel" rose window, and arguably the most interesting 1100s tympanum and voussoirs sculptures in the UK. 

Link to close-ups of the tympanum people at Barfreston

Knights' lances meet, and a wyvern sprays fire at the lion round the next corner.  The centaur ignores all this and stares into the distance.

The 14 south door outer voussoirs - link to close-up photos of them all

This is thought to be one of the earliest representations of Thomas Becket, murdered in his cathedral at nearby Canterbury on 29 December 1170.

Link to close-ups of some of the inner voussoirs at Barfreston

Barfreston - the East End

The upper East End is part Puglian and part Poitou / Aquitaine.  On the left is a recess with a statue of a horseman - commonly found in Western France (like the namesake church at Civray).  Around the rose window are the remains of the symbols of the four evangelists -   the Lion (Mark), Eagle (John), Angel (Matthew) (nothing left),  and Bull (Luke).  There would also probably have been a Christ figure over the window.

The rose window itself is "Superior Puglian Wagon Wheel" - superior because of the added artistry of the column swallowers!  The window surround links back to Western France, with some of the figures two headed.

And the hurtling bat - maybe he's one of the images that inspired Viollet le Duc!

Lucifer (as a bat) hurtles earthwards down the east facade.

Link to close-ups of some of the corbels at Barfreston

North door "playing card" capital.

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All original material © Adrian Fletcher 2000-10 - The contents may not be hotlinked, or reproduced without permission