The Medieval Painted Church at Slapton in Northamptonshire

wow!!

As always a wonderful and educational posting. Thank you so much Alan for all your hard work and enthusiasm

Thank you Alan, very informative as always, much appreciated.

The chancel, furnitures and screens in this church are as decent as those medieval paintings. I hope they're still sticking to the old tradition of using the high altar for communion, either facing east or standing at the north end. Those modern Roman V II customs are just pointless, and the so called contemporary language liturgy is tedious.

Thank you for sharing your enthusiasm for history on your channel. I hope that at some point in the near future, AI can be used to virtually reconstruct the surviving wall paintings and show how the medieval congregations would have seen the interior of churches.

To think that some of these images, made of simple natural pigments, have survived (albeit partly) for some eight centuries!

Whenever I see these I always lament what we lost. Be great if someone could do some kind of light show to bring the churches back to life

an extraordinary survival

Wow how beautiful amazing what is hidden under the whitewash that adornes many of our medieval churches today

If painted churches are of interest, the St Michael's and All Angels' in Copford, Essex may be a good one to check out. Even if the painting did suffer some Victorian restoration!

as you know, we visited a couple of months ago. possibly the finest medieval small church I've ever visited. Thank you for taking me back again!

is it safe to assume that these wall paintings suffered from the iconoclasm
of the post reformation zealots?
(I won't go into how I feel about zealotry)

Huh. I never knew Saint Christopher was huge.

Thank you Allan, another wonderful video! 😁🙏

Thank you so much. This is one of your best ever videos, not just for the wonderful paintings but for your erudite and sensitive commentary. I really appreciate the way you don't talk down to your audience. This church would make a lovely article for The Antiquary, hint hint.....

Fabulous as ever, thank you. If you are ever in South Wales the wonderful wall paintings of Llancafan may well be worth a video.

Well done Allan! The crispness of the video and all of the atmospheric audio makes me feel like I am actually there!

The contrast you made of the May birdsong at the end, to that of the silent eloquence of those gorgeous wall paintings, was poetic, Allan. Thank you for a wonderful video.

I very much enjoy your videos.

Thank you for a wonderful video. ❤❤❤

Hello Allan! It’s so very beautiful to hear you tell the stories of the vast number we found.Arag❤

I actually felt like I could hear you 'chuckle with delight' how lovely just like the medieval free hand expression in all its mermaid glory 😊😊 thank you Sir x

Amazing vídeo, Allan

Very interesting, with a poetic mood of remembrance. Appreciate this from Minnesota, USA.

Absolutely splendid, and, yes, so very touching and human, as you say. I would love it if my church in British Columbia, with its tall, whitewashed concrete walls, blackened with decades of soot from thuribles - were adorned with depictions from Scripture and church history, painted by talented members or residents of the parish. We're a visual species - I believe our experience of the transcendent is enlivened by the visual arts. Thanks for all you do.

what wonderful survivals, spared from the scrapers

Excellent

Thank you, sir, from across the pond. The near ubiquitous tangible history that surrounds you Brits & the Continentals has always been a source of envy from my perspective and I've thoroughlyenjoyedthetime I'vebeenable to spend over there. Thanks for bringing some of these gems to film in an approachable yet articulate format. Cheers.

Ahh. SO delightful the birdsong and this profound 'find'! Thank you so much and best to you and yours from Oklahoma. 🇺🇲

This is awe inspiring.
A miracle that these paintings survived. Truly a Holy gift to all who can view them

Exquisite paintings ❤

Truly amazing how the Christian tradition has endured so many years and the very buildings of antiquity are still used for the purpose they were originally constructed for and tell so many tails of our collective tormentous past .

Thanks for sharing your visit with us. Does the environment/temperature etc have to be maintained at a certain level to preserve the paintings? And is lamp black an ochre colour or it is derived from a lamp? Fascinating video and look into the past. Blessings to all who have congregated at the church throughout history.

What a blessing. Christ be with you all.

Slapton may now be off your bucket list, but now it's on mine! Great video, thanks for sharing.

The ancient church of St Agatha at Easby near Richmond in Yorkshire has extensive medieval wall paintings depicting scenes of rural life.

Allan, It is so great that your 'lessons' blend both architecture, history, and simple religious instruction without being overly didactic. Always a pleasure with see your new content or that which i have not previously seen.

What a beautiful church. ❤❤❤❤❤

This church is a treasure trove Allan. Such a beautiful insight into the strong devotions of the people of Slapton. Thank you so much for sharing these images and your insights. Much appreciated. The bird song was very beautiful too!

Are you Catholic, as in Roman Catholic, by any chance?..God bless Mary protect +++

Very interesting Allan....... would it have been common for most churches to be decorated like this?

St.John's Church, Hanley, Stoke-on-Trent is being decimated in the most hostile and disrespectful manner.
Unacceptable!

Excellent video! I am Catholic and I have visited many churches and Cathedrals around Europe. Sometimes some of the churches like this one are the most beautiful ❤️❤️

Now that's interesting, these have quite a unique feel to them. Sort of a viking folk style. And I'm glad you explained who the big guy was right away, quite odd to not have Mary there as usual

Thank you for this wonderful video! A couple of suggestions worth visiting in my view - forgive me if you’ve previously done any videos there:
St. Andrew’s, Nether Wallop, Hants - it has some wonderful medieval paintings as well
All Saints, Hursley - burial place of Richard Cromwell

As a historian, I love seeing all the unique treasures of our country’s churches. So beautiful and really connects me with my past as an Anglican and now a Catholic! Keep up the great work!

How do protestant people deal with this catholic imagery from week to week?

something attracts me so much about these medieval painted churches
thankyou for sharing this 🙂 x

some examples here in south wales..

Beautiful. I love that this is the people’s art. However did these paintings survive the various periods of iconoclasm? Also, I’d love to know more about how these paintings were conserved.

Lovely tour and explanations. I can't help wishing those awful chairs were stored elsewhere - hard to believe the Slaptonites fill every pew... ❤