Mediaeval parish churches are some of the oldest and most loved buildings in the British Isles. However, relatively few of them have been archaeologically surveyed and many unverified stories have grown up around them. This talk will look at some of the commonly repeated tales about the architecture of churches, which are widely assumed to be true, but which ultimately fall into the realm of folklore and myth.
These stories include doorways apparently blocked to keep the Devil out and windows said to allow lepers to watch the mass. These are tales repeated in good faith but are not based in the lived reality of the mediaeval world. Instead, we will look at the how churches were used before the Reformation. By applying contextual archaeological and historical evidence the architectural functions of churches will be investigated and unlocked.
The speaker, James Wright (Triskele Heritage), is an award winning buildings archaeologist. He has two decades professional experience of ferreting around in people’s cellars, hunting through their attics and digging up their gardens. He hopes to find meaningful truths about how ordinary and extraordinary folk lived their lives in the mediaeval period. He is the author of the popular Mediaeval Mythbusting Blog and his book Historic Building Mythbusting will be released via The History Press on 6 June 2024.
