Photos of the Norman Romanesque Malmesbury Abbey & Sculpture

Home  /  Medieval Middle Ages Index /  Romanesque & Norman British Churches & Monasteries

Photos of the Beautiful Norman Romanesque Malmesbury Abbey & Sculpture. Photos by photographer Paul E Williams.  (TIP – use the icons below the slideshow for thumbnail photos and info)

How To Download These Photos ?

Photos of the Beautiful Norman Romanesque Malmesbury Abbey & Sculpture

---

Photos of the Norman Romanesque Malmesbury Abbey and its Romanesque Sculptures.

The Re-Building of Malmesbury Abbey

The old Saxon Abbey church at Malmesbury was rebuilt after the conquest of England by the Normans. By 1180 at the new Norman Abbey had been completed with a 431 feet (131m) tall spire. After the Dissolution of the Monasteries in 1539 the Abbey was sold to William Stumpe, a rich merchant who filled the old Abbey with looms to make cloth.

Malmesbury Abbey is Abandoned

In 1500 the West tower fell during a storm demolishing three bays of the nave and leaving only half of the original building standing. The Abbey Church and its buildings then fell into ruins.

Malmesbury Abbey still retains marvellous examples of Norman architecture mixed with the Gothic to create an interior which soars up three stories to a stone vaulted ceiling.

Tomb of Athelstan

Little decoration survives inside the church. Norman geometric patterned sculpted architectural features surround the first tier arches. The other internal decoration that survives is on the Tomb of Athelstan who was a grandson of Alfred the Great.

Athelstan was crowned King of Wessex in 924 and by 927 he had expanded his kingdom to create the Kingdom of all England. In 937 he won a decisive victory at the battle of Brunanburh and defeated the Scottish, Norse and Danish army to become ruler of the whole of Britain. He died in 939 and was buried at Malmesbury Abbey.

Malmesbury Abbey Anglo Saxon Sculptures

The most fascinating sculptures are to be found on the walls of the south porch of Malmesbury Abbey. Although incorporated into a Norman porch, these sculpted panels, measuring 10ft by 4ft 6”, are from an earlier date. They are similar to those to be found at the church of St Peter at Monkwearmouth, which were sculpted by masons from Gaul in 710 for the Abbot of Jarrow. They are probably Anglo Saxon sculptures.

The Malmesbury Abbey sculptures depict he apostles seated on a long bench. Some of their heads are inclined awkwardly. They do not carry any of the icongraphy used in later medieval sculptures to identify them. Apart from St John, they do not have the beards saint are depicted with in later sculptures.

The flying angels above their heads bear a considerable resemblance to the carved angels of St Lawrence, Bradford-on-Avon.

The sculpture was probably commissioned by St Aldhelm, founder of Malmesbury in 705. These sculptured panels at Malmesbury are important well preserved examples of Saxon art that probably came from the original Saxon Abbey of Malmesbury.