Ah, the vicissitudes of fickle fashion.
Peel off the smooth mediæval stone face of the columns in Norwich Cathedral …
… and reveal the glory of the original Norman masonry.
I know which I prefer. A pox on Puritanical conformity!
Throw off your dull robes and shine, in all your peculiar splendour.
11 comments:
Sort of reminds me of the restoration work over here - when the workers peel off the vinyl siding to reveal the nice old Victorian or Craftsman style woodwork underneath. So, was the stone facing the mediaeval equivalent of vinyl siding?
This particular act of vandalism was part of Henry VIII's desecration of all things idolatrous (it seems that smashing statues and scraping the faces off painted Saints was not good enough for the Joyless Brigade; they had to cover up all decorated structures with plain and unadorned boredom).
It happened again when the Puritans came along, though mercifully we shipped those bigoted bastards over to your side of the Pond.
And those self-righteous prigs the Victorians completed the destruction by whitewashing over all painted surfaces (most of which are only now beginning to come to light after sympathetic restoration).
Since the twelfth century, no Christian has ever made a good decision or done anything morally, artistically or architecturally valid. String 'em up, I say. Crucifixion's too good for them (sorry, I tend to quote Life of Brian a lot when I get onto this subject).
Naked columns! What's not to love?
Ahem …
Awesome swirling Normans.
Now I've got a weird picture in my head of the Battle of Hastings fought as a waltz contest.
Actually, it would probably have been better that way.
I once went to a church with wonderful, creepy faces carved in the wood, but the church members had them covered with pieces of plywood because they were scary. Sheesh.
"Throw off your dull robes and shine, in all your peculiar splendour" is a wonderful piece of advice.
Yay for the unmasking! The original masonry on this column adds such visual and textural pleasure for the viewer. Of course the Puritans would want to cover it up.
"Throw off your dull robes and shine, in all your peculiar splendour" is a magnificent piece of writing.
Robyn, whenever I go to church, the creepy carved faces are on the people sitting in the pews.
Yay indeed for unmasking such treasures, Ms.M.
Little wonder Puritans are so grumpy and miserable.
I do love it when you go all ranty, especially over architecture!
Yes, Mme: occasionally I rant on something I actually know a little about.
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