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A figure sculpture at Upton Bishop, Herefordshire: continuity and revival in early medieval sculpture

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  03 August 2009

John Hunt
John Hunt*
Affiliation:
John Hunt, 75 Lower Road, Hednesford, Cannock WS12 1ND, UK. E-mail: [email protected]
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Abstract

In the nineteenth century, a red sandstone figural carving was located in the south-facing chancel wall of the church of St John the Baptist, Upton Bishop, near Ross-on-Wye in Herefordshire. In 2005, following the removal of the stone for recording and conservation, the author was invited to examine and report on the sculpture, and particularly to review the proposal that the sculpture, rather than being of Roman date as had traditionally been supposed, was more probably a Romanesque carving of the twelfth century. The characteristics of the Upton Bishop carving are here examined and the various attributions of dating are reviewed, as a consequence of which it is suggested that the sculpture is neither Roman nor Romanesque in date, but rather is of pre-Conquest origin, most probably of around ad 800. It is thus suggested that the Upton Bishop sculpture represents a significant addition to the corpus of Anglo-Saxon figural sculpture in Herefordshire and the western Midlands, that the characteristics of the sculpture suggest well-established traits forming part of a local style and that these were taken forward into the Romanesque period, thus contributing to the distinctive character of the Herefordshire School of sculpture.

Résumé

Au dix-neuvième siècle, on a trouvé une sculpture figurée en grès rouge dans le mur sud du chœur de l’église de S. Jean-Baptiste, Upton Bishop, près de Ross-on-Wye au Herefordshire. En 2005, suite à la dépose de la pierre pour la consigner et la préserver, l’auteur fut invité à étudier la sculpture et à en faire le compte-rendu, et tout particulièrement à faire le point sur la suggestion que la sculpture, plutôt que de remonter à la période romaine, comme on l’avait toujours supposé, était plus probablement une sculpture romane du douzième siècle. On examine ici les caractéristiques de la sculpture d’Upton Bishop et on fait le point sur les diverses attributions de datation et, en conséquence, on suggère que la sculpture n’est de date ni romaine ni romane mais plutôt qu’elle est d’origine antérieure à la conquête normande, plus probablement d’environ 800. On suggère donc que la sculpture d’Upton Bishop constitue un apport significatif à l’ensemble de la sculpture figurée anglo-saxonne au Herefordshire et dans l’ouest des Midlands, que les caractéristiques de la sculpture suggèrent des traits bien établis qui faisaient partie d’un ‘style local’ et que ceux-ci avaient été transférés à la période romane, contribuant ainsi au caractère distinct de l’école de sculpture du Herefordshire.

Zusammenfassung

Im neunzehnten Jahrhunderts wurde eine Figurenskulptur aus rotem Sandstein an der Südkanzlei der Kirche St John the Baptist in Upton Bishop in der Nähe von Ross-on-Wye in der Grafschaft Herefordshire entdeckt. Im Jahr 2005, nachdem der Stein zur Aufzeichnung und Untersuchung abgenommen wurde, wurde der Autor aufgefordert diese Skulptur zu untersuchen und einen Bericht abzugeben. Insbesondere sollte der Vorschlag nachgeprüft werden, daß die Skulptur anstatt römischen Datums, wie bisher angenommen, eher eine romanische Steinskulptur aus dem zwölften Jahrhundert war. Die Besonderheiten der Upton Bishop Steinskulptur werden hier untersucht und die verschiedenen Kennzeichen zur Datierung geprüft. Daraus geht hervor, daß die Skulptur weder römisch noch romanisch, sondern aus der Zeit vor der normannischen Invasion stammt, höchstwahrscheinlich ca. ad 800. Es wird somit vorgeschlagen, daß die Upton Bishop Skulptur ein wichtiger Bestandteil der Sammlung angelsächsischer Figuren in der Grafschaft Herefordshire und westlichen Midlands ist. Die Merkmale dieser Figur enthalten etablierte Charakterzüge, die für den lokalen Stil typisch sind. Sie wurden bis in die romanische Periode übernommen, und tragen damit zum besonderen Charakter der ‘Hereford School of Sculpture’ bei.

Type
Original Article
Information
The Antiquaries Journal , Volume 89 , September 2009 , pp. 179 - 214
Copyright
Copyright © The Society of Antiquaries of London 2009

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