Castor - The Church of St Kyneburgha
The Church of St Kyneburgha, Castor
North Aisle –Wall Painting of the Martyrdom of St Catherine
The wall-painting, dating from the 14thCentury, contains three scenes from the martyrdom of St Catherine. The top painting shows Catherine in “Dispute with the Philosophers”; the middle ones the “Execution of the Philosophers”, and the lower one the ‘Catherine Wheel’ (broken by a knife-wielding angel), preceding Catherine’s death. The cult of St Catherine was very popular in the Late Middle Ages. She is supposed to have been the niece of the Emperor Maximus who, on discovering she was a Christian, ordered his philosophers to convert her. However, she succeeded in converting them, and Maximus duly had them strangled. He then ordered her to be broken on a wheel –t he origin of the Catherine Wheel. The painting at Castor was uncovered in 1842, and restored in the 1986 by Liz Hirst.
Detail: Wall paintings, C14 - Three scenes from life of St Catherine.
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The Church of St Kyneburgha is an ancient grade I listed building. It is regarded amongst the top 100 churches in England. It has been a place of worship since the 4th Century. The building includes Roman, Saxon and Norman stonework. The famous NormanTower is probably the finest Romanesque parish church tower in England. The beautiful nave roof (c1450) consists of 60 angels and other figures. Others items of interest include Saxon carvings, the fascinating sculptures on the capitals of the Norman Tower shafts, the medieval Lady Chapel stone altar and the wall painting (c1350) depicting the martyrdom of St Katharine.
Castor is known internationally among archaeologists as the centre of an important Roman settlement along the Nene valley west of Peterborough. The Roman palace (c. 250 AD) or praetorium (underneath the churchyard and surrounding area) was the second largest Roman building in Britain replacing an earlier first century villa. The church is built on the site of the Roman courtyard. Whatever survived from the Roman period, St Kyneburgha, daughter of King Penda of Mercia founded a double convent (men and women) on the site in the Celtic tradition bringing monks from Lindisfarne and was the first Abbess. After being sacked by the Vikings the church functioned as a Saxon minster church and was rebuilt by the Normans c1100 and further extended in c1220 (S Aisle and 1310 (N Aisle). The broach spire was added to the tower c1350.
Castor - The Church of St Kyneburgha
The Church of St Kyneburgha, Castor
North Aisle –Wall Painting of the Martyrdom of St Catherine
The wall-painting, dating from the 14thCentury, contains three scenes from the martyrdom of St Catherine. The top painting shows Catherine in “Dispute with the Philosophers”; the middle ones the “Execution of the Philosophers”, and the lower one the ‘Catherine Wheel’ (broken by a knife-wielding angel), preceding Catherine’s death. The cult of St Catherine was very popular in the Late Middle Ages. She is supposed to have been the niece of the Emperor Maximus who, on discovering she was a Christian, ordered his philosophers to convert her. However, she succeeded in converting them, and Maximus duly had them strangled. He then ordered her to be broken on a wheel –t he origin of the Catherine Wheel. The painting at Castor was uncovered in 1842, and restored in the 1986 by Liz Hirst.
Detail: Wall paintings, C14 - Three scenes from life of St Catherine.
—————————————————————
The Church of St Kyneburgha is an ancient grade I listed building. It is regarded amongst the top 100 churches in England. It has been a place of worship since the 4th Century. The building includes Roman, Saxon and Norman stonework. The famous NormanTower is probably the finest Romanesque parish church tower in England. The beautiful nave roof (c1450) consists of 60 angels and other figures. Others items of interest include Saxon carvings, the fascinating sculptures on the capitals of the Norman Tower shafts, the medieval Lady Chapel stone altar and the wall painting (c1350) depicting the martyrdom of St Katharine.
Castor is known internationally among archaeologists as the centre of an important Roman settlement along the Nene valley west of Peterborough. The Roman palace (c. 250 AD) or praetorium (underneath the churchyard and surrounding area) was the second largest Roman building in Britain replacing an earlier first century villa. The church is built on the site of the Roman courtyard. Whatever survived from the Roman period, St Kyneburgha, daughter of King Penda of Mercia founded a double convent (men and women) on the site in the Celtic tradition bringing monks from Lindisfarne and was the first Abbess. After being sacked by the Vikings the church functioned as a Saxon minster church and was rebuilt by the Normans c1100 and further extended in c1220 (S Aisle and 1310 (N Aisle). The broach spire was added to the tower c1350.