Interlaced knot design carved in the early 12th century: a detail of the richly sculpted Romanesque or Norman north doorway to the Parish Church of St Swithin at Quenington, Gloucestershire, England, UK.
Quenington, Gloucestershire, England, UK: medieval carving with an interlaced knot design in Cotswold stone to the right of the richly sculpted north doorway to the Parish Church of Saint Swithin. The portal also features an early 12th century depiction of the Harrowing of Hell and typical Romanesque sculptural devices such as bands of zigzag chevron or dogtooth moulding. St Swithin's, originally dedicated to the Virgin Mary as a Roman Catholic church, was founded by the wealth Lacy or De Laci family in about 1100 AD. Although it was largely rebuilt in the late 1800s, the Norman north and south doorways have survived intact. They are now regarded as among the finest examples of Romanesque sculpture in Britain and the church is under official protection as a Grade I Listed Building. The south doorway features Europe's earliest example of a Coronation of the Virgin scene still in its original location. Quenington, east of Cirencester and north of Fairford in the Gloucestershire Cotswolds, appears in the Domesday Book of 1086 as Qvenintone, from the Old English 'Cwenenatun', meaning 'the women's town or settlement' (the word 'queen' has the same derivation). The church passed in 1138 to St Peter's Abbey in Gloucester and then, in 1193, to the Knights Hospitaller Catholic military order. A 13th century gatehouse survives at Quenington from the Knights Hospitaller estate.
Size: 4256px × 2832px
Location: Quenington, Gloucestershire, England, UK
Photo credit: © Terence Kerr / Alamy / Afripics
License: Royalty Free
Model Released: No
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