St. Laurence’s Church, Ludlow
No European trip is complete without a trip to a cathedral. We’ve visited 23 European countries and seen so many cathedrals, I’m not sure we could tell one interior scene from another. Unless, we’ve had an interesting experience, like when we attended Easter Vigil Mass at the Lincoln Cathedral. On our latest trip, we were wandering around Ludlow, lingering at our last stop of the trip, and savouring the tiny lanes and architecture of the town, when we took a few steps down an enclosed lane and happened upon the St. Laurence Church.
Corner of Choir Stalls.
Our favorite part of English churches are the choir stalls. When we were at the Lincoln Cathedral for Easter, we sat in the choir stalls. We were tingling all over to be in such a holy place and sitting in a special location. Choir stalls are located between the altar and the general seating. This is where the choir sits in the carved benches and seats, dimly lit, facing the center aisle. We’ve seen some amazingly carved woodwork, paneling and carved canopy framework. Some tourists visit to see stained glass windows; we go to see the carved structures.
Carved wooden choir stall featuring a misericord.
The Ludlow church has wonderful choir stalls. We hadn’t expected to see anything so special down a narrow lane on our last day. It’s easy to imagine the past when monks and clergy would stand for long periods in the stalls. Sometimes, they would pull the folding seat down and sit, but most of the time, the seat is in the upright position. From this view, the underneath view, there are carvings. These carvings are under a tiny ledge. The ledge is called a misericord and it was a relief for those in the stalls to lean back and use the ledge as a small seat. Remember, this carved ledge is under the actual seat, so that it is viewed when the seat is up, but hidden when someone is sitting down.
A misericord representing a winter month. He’s warming his hands by a fire.
A Minisericard head of a king, probably biblical.
A mermaid, siren, holding a mirror, surrounded by dolphins. A warning.
A medieval owl represented ignorance and is a creature of darkness.
Veneration of the wine barrel by two headless figures. A warning of the perils of drink.
A griffin, symbol of watchfulness, is said to keep guard over hidden treasures.
The first of the medieval misericord carvings in Ludlow date from 1425 and there are 28 of them at the parish church, more than any other parish church. The earliest of the misericords feature cautionary tales or warnings about the sins of men or biblical stories. They are quite fascinating.
What a wonderful treasure to wrap up our September 2019 trip to Wales and England.
Robertson English Antiques 