Christmas 2024 & New Year’s in England – Romanesque England: the Saint Mary parochial church in Patrixbourne (Kent)
†
Patrixbourne is a lovely village with many old houses, gifted after the Conquest to the Patric family (some English scholars spell it “Patry”), a Celtic-Scandinavian lineage from the Saint-Lô region of Normandy that financially profited hugely from the Norman ownership of England, one Richard Patric or Patry having fought at Hastings alongside the Conqueror. The village and its church, dedicated to the Virgin Mary, are already mentioned in the Domesday Book in 1086, although some elements are from the late 12th century, most notably the rose, which is very similar to the one we have just seen in Barfreston and comes from the same workshop.
However, I do not agree with the opinion of some English art historians who believe that the church we see today is entirely from that late period. On the contrary, and except of course for the Gothic windows and any subsequent fell and cruel “restorations” from the 19th century, I opine that most of this church’s structure is from the late 1000s, the sculpted portal having been added slightly later, around 1100–30. The same applies to the more minor decoration of the narrow door opened in the southern side wall (the “Priest’s Door”, as some call it), which exists here as it does in Barfreston.
The apparel is typical of what can usually be seen in Kent: dark flintstone drowned in a thick mortar. Only the cornerstones, window frames and sculpted parts are in Caen limestone imported from Normandy.
Paradoxically, while the church in Patrixbourne ranks quite a ways below that of Barfreston overall, its main feature, the sculpted portal, appears, at least to my eyes, largely above and beyond anything that can be seen in Barfreston, despite the fact that it has been very damaged by erosion. But it is, regrettably, quite alone; there is not much else to see, apart of course from the rose. The interior, just as in Barfreston, is essentially uninteresting to us fans of Romanesque, although we will take a peek at it: the arches separating the main nave from the aisles are, for the southern one 15th century, and for the northern one 19th. Only the triumphal arch is Romanesque (Norman for our friends in the UK), as well as some windows.
Christmas 2024 & New Year’s in England – Romanesque England: the Saint Mary parochial church in Patrixbourne (Kent)
†
Patrixbourne is a lovely village with many old houses, gifted after the Conquest to the Patric family (some English scholars spell it “Patry”), a Celtic-Scandinavian lineage from the Saint-Lô region of Normandy that financially profited hugely from the Norman ownership of England, one Richard Patric or Patry having fought at Hastings alongside the Conqueror. The village and its church, dedicated to the Virgin Mary, are already mentioned in the Domesday Book in 1086, although some elements are from the late 12th century, most notably the rose, which is very similar to the one we have just seen in Barfreston and comes from the same workshop.
However, I do not agree with the opinion of some English art historians who believe that the church we see today is entirely from that late period. On the contrary, and except of course for the Gothic windows and any subsequent fell and cruel “restorations” from the 19th century, I opine that most of this church’s structure is from the late 1000s, the sculpted portal having been added slightly later, around 1100–30. The same applies to the more minor decoration of the narrow door opened in the southern side wall (the “Priest’s Door”, as some call it), which exists here as it does in Barfreston.
The apparel is typical of what can usually be seen in Kent: dark flintstone drowned in a thick mortar. Only the cornerstones, window frames and sculpted parts are in Caen limestone imported from Normandy.
Paradoxically, while the church in Patrixbourne ranks quite a ways below that of Barfreston overall, its main feature, the sculpted portal, appears, at least to my eyes, largely above and beyond anything that can be seen in Barfreston, despite the fact that it has been very damaged by erosion. But it is, regrettably, quite alone; there is not much else to see, apart of course from the rose. The interior, just as in Barfreston, is essentially uninteresting to us fans of Romanesque, although we will take a peek at it: the arches separating the main nave from the aisles are, for the southern one 15th century, and for the northern one 19th. Only the triumphal arch is Romanesque (Norman for our friends in the UK), as well as some windows.