Fantastic new interactive resource to discover wallpaintings now available

We are delighted to announce that our new  interactive wallpainting resource is now available. 

Discover our wallpaintings

 

 

From grisly Medieval depictions of the brutal murder of Thomas Becket the intricate and jewel-like decoration of the whole of a Victorian church interior, historic churches contain a wealth of fascinating, surprising and irreplaceable wallpaintings which reflect almost 1,000 years of British history.  

The CCT’s unique online resource will cover the entire history of wallpaintings, from the first brushstroke in the 12^th century to dazzling 19^th century examples. Wallpaintings where created to educate, inspire, fear and motivate congregations – many of who where illiterate. The portal will help people understand how these works were created, how to unlock their meaning and read the stories they portray, how they are being conserved and their historical and national importance.  Examples show a range from the beautiful and gruesome to the downright bizarre [full list by county below].

Highlights include:

• St Peter’s Church, Preston Park, Brighton: The gruesomely-realistic depiction of the murder of Thomas Becket showing a knight (possibly William de Tracy) plunging his sword into Becket's head and blood dripping from the hand of Edward Grim, Becket’s chaplain.
• St Lawrence, Broughton, Milton Keynes: A vibrant and animated depiction of St George and the Dragon fighting to the death over the south door of the Church. The church boasts extensive paintings dating from the early 14^th – mid 15^th century, which remained hidden until 1849.
• St Giles Church, Imber, Wiltshire: The church for the now deserted town in the Army training area on Salisbury Plain contains, amongst other, a very rare depiction of the Seven Deadly Sins.
• St. John, Duxford, Cambridgeshire:  Stunningly-detailed wallpaintings from 1100s to the eve of the Reformation, including a range of rare subjects, such as a scene of Joseph of Arimathea asking for the body of Christ - unique in English wallpainting.
• Undedicated Church, Whitcome, Dorset:  A mermaid combing her hair.  She was  revealed during conservation work in 1912.
• St. John the Baptist, Inglesham, Gloucestershire:  Astonishing wallpaintings painted layer upon layer from the 13^th to the 19^th century, which were saved from destruction by William 

Over 60 of our churches have wallpaintings.  Phase one of the project has captured the wallpaintings from 24 churches.  The focus being on cataloguing the most dramatic and significant wallpaintings from our collection of churches.  The remaining 36 wallpaintings will be captured when we have raised a final £30,000 towards the second phase of the scheme. 

Read the press release

Discover our wallpaintings