St. Mary’s Church Kempley, West Midlands

A small Norman rural church, which also contains the most complete set of Romaneque frescos in Britain.  Kempley Church also has its original timber roof, which has been dated to the first half of the 12th century. 

Hugh de Lacy is thought to have commissioned the church and its paintings in the 12th century. Perhaps as a memorial to his father who fought for William in the battle of Hastings.

The paintings were painted directly onto damp plaster, The wall paintings were preserved under layers of lime wash after the reformation. They were not re-discovered until work was being done to the church in the 1870’s. At this time they applied coats of vanish in an effort to preserve the paintings but this had darkened the paint and so was removed in the 1950’s. 

The chancel walls show 12 apostles 6 on each side, the image of Christ is in the center of the chancel ceiling.  Above the side windows are depictions of Jerusalem.

The paintings in the nave date primarily from the 14th century.  These were painted on dry plaster work using an egg white mixture.

The wheel of life image dates from the 15th century. The wall paintings were white washed over after the reformation and only discovered at the end of the 19th century.

The west door is 12th century and was the main entrance before the tower was built. Made of three boards joined together with nails.

The half-timbered porch is 14th century. It would have been the spot that medieval marriages were conducted. 

The chancel paintings are a remarkable survival for a small village church although this would have been common practice at the time.   The stained glass in the chancel is Victoria. 

On the windows are representations of the towers of Jerusalem and there is a representation of two lay people wearing a pilgrim’s hat and carrying a pilgrim’s staff. 

The style of painting is Romanesque and has its roots in Anglo-Saxon and Western French paintings. 

Although described at Frescos lime dries slowly and these appear to have been painted simply soon after the plaster was applied. The carbonisation of the lime would help to fix the pigments. 

The paint used was a limewater and casein mixed with natural pigments and possibly egg whites. 

There is also a blue pigment used called Azurite; this may be the earliest surviving example of its use. 

Most of the nave paintings date from the 14th century, however the wheel of life dates from the 15th century. An analogy of land changing fortunes and a metaphor about the transience of human life.