The medieval Cotswolds ‘Ivy Church’ at Ampney St. Mary, Gloucestershire, England, UK: congregation killed or driven away circa 1350 by the Black Death bubonic plague pandemic; limestone and slate building then abandoned to fast-climbing ivy not removed until 1913. Now fully restored, with remains of red ochre 1200s and 1300s wall paintings inside.
Ampney St. Mary, Gloucestershire, England, UK: the 12th century Cotswolds Parish Church of St. Mary, long known as the ‘Ivy Church’, now stands alone about a mile from the present-day village after losing its congregation in about 1350 as the Black Death bubonic plague pandemic swept through Western Europe. The villagers were either killed by the Black Death or fled the site to rebuild their homes on higher and healthier land. The last few houses on the old site began to decay when the nearby road fell out of use in the 1700s, and in 1877, when the parish was united with Ampney St. Peter, the isolated church was abandoned to fast-climbing ivy. The ivy was finally cleared from the church in 1913. It has since been restored and is now once again open to visitors. Historic features inside include the fragmentary remains of 13th and 14th century red ochre wall paintings.
Size: 6989px × 4664px
Location: Ampney St. Mary, Gloucestershire, England, UK
Photo credit: © Terence Kerr / Alamy / Afripics
License: Royalty Free
Model Released: No
Keywords: 1100s, 12th, 1300s, 1350, 14th, abandoned, ampney, ampneys, architecture, bellcote, black, british, bubonic, cemetery, century, chest, christian, christianity, church, churchyard, climbing, cotswold, cotswolds, , death, deserted, england, english, exterior, fast, gabled, gloucestershire, graves, gravestones, graveyard, hamlet, headstones, hedera, hood, ivy, kerr, kingdom, leaded, lichen, lights, limestone, mary, mary’, medieval, moulds, mullioned, pandemic, parish, plague, porch, rebuilt, roof, saint, settlement, slate, st, st., stone, table, terence, tombs, tombstones, uk, united, vanished, village, villagers, windows
