Why did chaldon church have paintings?

The mural on the west wall of Chaldon church is one of the earliest known English wall paintings – it dates from about 1200 and is without equal in any other part of Europe. Wall paintings of this kind were intended as a visual aid to religious teaching. …

How old is chaldon church?

The church of Saints Peter and Paul at Chaldon, Surrey, is a Church of England parish church in the Diocese of Southwark. The building was begun before 1086 and is Grade I listed. It is notable for containing a large mural dating from around 1170, depicting images of the Last Judgement and purgatory.

What does the Doom painting represent?

A “Doom painting” or “Doom” is a traditional English term for a wall-painting of the Last Judgment in a medieval church. This is the moment in Christian eschatology when Christ judges souls to send them to either Heaven or Hell.

What is the painting in Chaldon church called?

St Peter and St Paul’s Church, Chaldon is internationally renowned for the twelfth-century doom mural on the west wall of the church and the church is mentioned in the Doomsday book.

Where is the doom painting?

The Doom Painting of St Thomas’s Church in Salisbury is the largest and best preserved in the UK. Painted around 1470, it was covered with lime whitewash during the Reformation and not seen again until 1819.

When was chaldon church built?

The current church was built in the late 10th or early 11th century, with a simple rectangular nave and the high walls characteristic of Saxon architecture. Of that Saxon building, the west wall is original, and the wall pierced by the chancel arch may be as well.

Were medieval churches painted?

But the medieval church would have been brightly colored – polychromed – and the walls were often decorated with elaborate paintings of religious scenes. The Painted Church website (an older site full of useful material) collects, by topic, images of most of the extant wall paintings in medieval England.

How many Doom paintings are there?

There are around 60 known original Doom paintings left in churches throughout the UK, in varying states of deterioration. Although most were painted during the period between the 12th and the 15th centuries, many were destroyed during the Reformation and many more painted over (which may have protected them).

What was the original color of the cathedral?

Conservation experts have stripped away the patina of the centuries to uncover a pale ochre wash, brushed on to the walls when the cathedral was constructed between 1194 and 1225. Still almost complete is the original white pattern of “fake” stone joints, which do not follow the lines of the real masonry.

Why was the Catholic Church so powerful in medieval times?

The Catholic Church became very rich and powerful during the Middle Ages. People gave the church 1/10th of their earnings in tithes. They also paid the church for various sacraments such as baptism, marriage, and communion. People also paid penances to the church.

Who painted the Doom painting?

The most famous last Judgement is probably that painted by Michaelangelo in the Sistine Chapel at the height of the Renaissance in the 1530’s.