The project

Doom and Discovery: Medieval Wall Paintings at St Mary’s

The project

Doom and Discovery: Medieval Wall Paintings at St Mary’s

The project

Doom and Discovery: Medieval Wall Paintings at St Mary’s

At one time, most of the smooth-plastered internal walls of medieval parish churches would have been covered with painted patterns or images.

We are extremely lucky at St Mary’s to have surviving remnants of several such Medieval wall paintings. Although only fragments remain today, they give a wonderful indication of how extensively decorated our church may once have been.

Our most significant and largest surviving painting is known as the ‘Doom’. It stretches across the Chancel arch - in full view of any assembled worshippers - and depicts the Last Judgement when Christ determined the destinations of human lives, with the righteous going to eternal life and the unrighteous to eternal punishment.

Modern use of the word ‘doom’ does suggest a bad outcome, but doom (or ‘dom’) is the old English word for judgement and the outcome could be good or bad. These paintings served as visual aids to the for priests at a time when the majority of the population was unable to read.

Our ‘Doom’ painting was covered up during the Reformation like many others, with few intact examples surviving today. The survival of fragments of our ‘Doom’ seems to be largely down to the fact that it was covered with lime/hair plaster rather than whitewash, almost preserving it in situ. However its uncovering when discovered during Victorian restorations works in 1884 is likely to have been less gentle than the methods we would employ today, and any damage caused at the time was further added to by the ravages of a storm in 1989.

The original painting has since undergone various surveys and conservation work to ensure that no further damage occurs, but

even the most avid fans of this unique piece of church history are the first to admit that it was somewhat difficult to connect with. How can such fragmentary evidence give visitors to the church a real sense of the magnificent (and terrifying) visual narrative witnessed by local Woodham peasants of the 1400s?

To truly understand the painting and its impact, we felt we needed to re-imagine it in its original form.

Legacy

One of the legacy objectives of the St. Mary’s Heritage Hub project is to present our local heritage in an exciting and memorable way whilst preserving it for generations to come. We’d love to share it with you. For more information email stmaryshh@gmail.com to discuss this further and make a booking.