The Priory Church of St Peter and St Paul Leominster England The Leominster Ducking Stool in the Norman Romanesque nave
The Leominster Ducking Stool in the Norman Romanesque nave A medieval punishment for scolding women and dishonest tradesmen It is the finest survivor of its kind and was last used in 1809 for Jenny Pipes the last person in England to be punished by ducking in water in this way. Behind is the remaining solid bay of the Romanesque south arcade from the north. The earliest part of the present Norman building dates from 1123 in 12th century when Benedictine monks from Reading Abbey started building a Priory It was dedicated to St Peter The town grew prosperous and the church became too small for the parish and so additional naves were built The central nave built in 1239 was dedicated to St Paul and the south nave in 1320 so the church is unusual in that it has three naves In 1539 Henry Vlll 8 dissolved the monasteries and although the Priory was destroyed the main church was saved A fire in 1699 nearly destroyed the church but money was raised by the congregation The equivalent of 500 000 today to restore it In 1861 after years of neglect restoration began under Sir Gilbert Scott The central south window together with the Gothic arcade of pillars between the centre center and south naves come from this time The West Door under the Tower has some beautiful 12th century carving unique to Herefordshire There are also several fine examples of Romanesque sculpture and painting also from 12th century
Size: 3937px × 5906px
Location: Leominster Herefordshire England GB Great Britain British United Kingdom UK EU Europe
Photo credit: © GS UK / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
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