Meetings & Events:

Study Day: Christchurch Priory

Date(s)
2 Jul 2022
Presented by
Dr Lloyd de Beer, Dr Tom Nickson, Dr Richard Plant
Venue
Christchurch Priory

Perched at the junction of the rivers Stour and Avon, Christchurch Priory is one of the most  remarkable churches in south-west England. The building is exceptional not only for its  Romanesque and Gothic architecture, three crypts, painted wooden roof and grammar school,  but also in the variety and quality of its medieval fittings. These include the sumptuously  carved Renaissance chantry chapel of Margaret Pole, Countess of Salisbury, various tomb  effigies, wooden stalls with misericords, a freestone choir screen and, famously, a reredos set  behind the high altar in the form of a monumental Tree of Jesse, potentially carved by the  same workshop responsible for some of the figures on Exeter Cathedral’s West Front. And  yet despite all its richness, Christchurch Priory remains little studied and poorly understood, a  puzzle. The authors of the most recent Hampshire edition of The Buildings of England even  judged it ‘quirky to the point of weirdness’. But all quirkiness aside, it is a rival in scale and  ambition to many of the better known English medieval (great) churches and merits further  study.

Addressing some of the many open questions about the building on this Study Day will be Dr  Lloyd de Beer, Dr Tom Nickson, and Dr Richard Plant. The day will begin at 11.15am  outside the porch and continue until 4pm, with a break for lunch and ice-cream. There are  direct trains from London and elsewhere. 

The Study Day will be limited to a maximum of 20 people: 10 members of the Association  and 10 students. For members of the Association the fee is £25 (please bring cheque or cash  with you on the day). Students do not have to pay a fee and their travel expenses (up to £50)  will be reimbursed by the Association. 

To register for the day: email studydays@thebaa.org by June 1. We will notify you of the  outcome by 2 June