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medieval-religion: Scholarly discussions of medieval religion and culture I have not been through this web site thoroughly but it has some wall paintings of the Last Judgement as depicted in English churches (all interior, I think, and none on the exterior walls.) http://www.paintedchurch.org/conpage.htm The Doom page: http://www.paintedchurch.org/doomcon.htm "After St. Christopher, the Doom or Last Judgement was probably the subject most commonly painted in the Medieval parish church." And an article from The Times which may be of interest. Fr Ambrose ~*~*~*~*~* Scholars hail discovery of 11th-century paintings beneath layers of plaster and ivy in ruined church Hidden frescoes give new picture of Romanesque art http://www.the-times.co.uk/news/pages/tim/96/12/27/timnwsnws02017.html?1273745 BY DALYA ALBERGE, ARTS CORRESPONDENT ROMANESQUE wall paintings identified as the oldest extensive church frescoes in Britain have been discovered by a retired engineer among ivy-covered ruins. Scholars speak of being breathless with excitement at the find and describe it as a "once-in-a-lifetime experience". One said: "Those few who have been fortunate to see it have come back almost speechless." The images, which include the oldest depiction of its kind of the Holy Trinity anywhere in Europe, have been found in a remote and dilapidated church in the west of Norfolk. Prophets, saints and a demon figure are among paintings that were concealed for centuries beneath medieval and 17th-century painted plaster and a wall of ivy that had engulfed the roofless building. They were painted in about 1090, three years after the death of William the Conqueror. The find was made by Bob Davey, pictured right, who has lived locally since 1987, after he noticed patches of red ochre poking through the ivy at the church, reputed to be haunted, and contacted Norfolk County Council. First, 17th-century biblical texts that had been painted on to the wall in black lettering on white ground were discovered, protected by the ivy for the 50 years since the church was last used. Cracks in the plasterwork, however, suggested that there was something else underneath. The art detectives removed a section and found themselves going back to the 13th century. Again, cracks in the plaster led them to another medieval layer. That was when they found the frescoes. David Park, a leading medieval wall paintings scholar at the Courtauld Institute in London, said: "I was astounded when I saw these paintings for the first time." It is estimated that only half the imagery has been uncovered. The find is all the more important because Henry VIII, the damp British climate and the Victorian penchant for stripping church interiors ensured the obliteration of colourful early Romanesque wall paintings that were once abundant in Britain. "These are exceptionally early," said Mr Park, explaining that they "rather revolutionise" our knowledge of art from this period, particularly in the development of subject. History books would need to be rewritten and, for this reason, the frescoes were of international importance, he said. Stephen Rickerby, a wall paintings conservator, whose clients include the Getty Conservation Institute, said: "It is tremendously exciting. What marks it as special is that quite a lot of Romanesque paintings survive in Britain. They generally date from 1130 to 1150." The Anglo-Saxons were known to have painted their church walls, but the only example to have survived in a small church at Nether Wallop in Hampshire, dating from 1000 is such a small fragment that it pales against this discovery. Julian Hunt, of English Heritage, which is overseeing the project with the council, said: "If it were in a cathedral, that would be extraordinary enough. The fact that it's in a parish church in the middle of such an isolated spot is quite mind-boggling." He explained that the drapery was among stylistic features identifying it as very early Romanesque. The compositions on the east gable include the Holy Trinity with God seated with Christ and the Holy Ghost as a dove. Mr Park said that the representation of Christ on the Cross before an enthroned God is the earliest known depiction of an image that was to become a standard way of showing that subject throughout Europe in the Middle Ages; until this find, the earliest such composition was a northern French manuscript of 1120. Also on the east gable is a series of faces gazing up to heaven and busts of saints in roundels, and other figures rising out of coffins at the Resurrection. The west gable bears a demonic figure grasping at what looks like an ankle. There is another scene on the north wall that has yet to be identified; it seems to be a figure of Christ. Unfortunately, it will be years before the public will be able to see the paintings. Conservation will be a slow process and will not begin until environmental monitoring and pigment analysis, for example, have been conducted. There is also the ethical dilemma of how much to save of the later periods. Normally, scholars would be delighted to find 13th-century imagery, Mr Rickerby said, adding that there were at least two medieval layers there. Traces of rare pigments reflect that the painting would be "a ghost of what it was", he said. "But that is to be expected. It may be faint, but it is remarkable." He added: "The sad thing is that almost every church in England had a scheme like this. We've lost so much. It is such a little church, yet it has an amazing scheme." English Heritage and Norfolk County Council have shared the £40,000 cost of erecting a roof, making the structure sound and protecting the church from the elements and wildlife. It is part of their extensive work in tackling the ruined churches of Norfolk. Caroline Babington, the project's head of wall paintings conservation, said: "The paintings are absolutely stunning, a once-in-a-lifetime experience. To think that they have been tucked away in the middle of nowhere ..." The unnamed church was last in regular service in 1936 but, even then, was in a poor state of repair. 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