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A timeline and gazetteer of misericord development.
This is to help show the stylistic development of misericords throughout the ages, countries and regions.
Where only the century of creation is know, I will leave them near the centre of that century’s group.
Where misericords were created over a number of periods, I will either leave them grouped by the first date, if they are all within a 100 year period, or if the second group is post the beginning of the 19th century, otherwise I will spilt them into separate entries. For obvious reasons I am ignoring any misericords in museums which have taken misericords from multiple periods.
This page is very much ‘Work in Progress” Normally I would wait until completion before publishing, but I felt that this could be useful even at this stage - hope you agree.
RSS feed for Automated updates of the regular upgrades to misericords.co.uk
Misericord Location |
Comment |
Example |
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1220 - 1230 1250 - 1260 |
The earliest complete set of misericords in the UK Misericords: Wide mixture of subject matter and style. Supporters: Varied, foliate, mythological and everyday. |
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1250 |
Christchurch has misericords from 3 distinct periods - 1250, 1350 and 1515, the example shown is from 1250, others are shown in their correct periods. The misericords from 1250 do not have supporters |
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1290 |
Supporters: Varying lengths, some like Exeter, very short, whilst the other extreme is shown in the picture adjacent. |
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Misericord Location |
Comment |
Example |
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1305 20th Cnetury |
Small central carvings compared with the size of the supporters Curved top for comfort. |
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Early 14th century 1881 |
Although only three are 14th century, the other 19 have been created sympathetically. Misericords: Mythological content. Supporters: Mythological content, |
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Early 14th century Some from 1516 |
The majority of the misericords are floral corbels, with a few from 1516 celebrating Henry VII and Katherine of Aragon. |
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Early 14th century |
Although the designs are relatively simple, the carving detail is very fine. |
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Early 14th century 19th century |
Misericords: Varied subject matter. Supporters: Foliage bosses. |
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Early 14th century |
Similar in design to the misericords of Hereford Cathedral, but with slightly simpler motifs. |
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Early 14th century |
Misericords: Plain vault with small design. Supporters: Although the supporters are now missing, it is obvious, from the scarring, that they once had small supporters. |
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2nd quarter 14th century 19th century |
Primarily the misericords show normal everyday life or a mix of angels, devils and clerics. |
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1330 |
Misericords: Curved tops for comfort. Supporters: Varied, simple animal heads, and foliage. |
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1330 - 1340 |
Misericords: Slightly curved tops for comfort. Largely mythological content |
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1350 |
Christchurch has misericords from 3 distinct periods - 1250, 1350 and 1515, the example shown is from 1350, others are shown in their correct periods. The misericords from 1350 do not have supporters |
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1350 |
Although 60 miles from Christchurch, there is a striking similarity between the misericords at Ottery St May and those at Christchurch and dating from the same period. |
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14th century |
Misericords: Simple corbels rising from multi-moulded bases. No Supporters. |
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14th century |
Primarily religious in nature, but with the mythical thrown in. Heavily defaced |
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14th century |
Misericords: Many missing or damaged Simple supporters |
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14th century |
Probably 14th century, but may be much older. Simple designs with supporters, but not as we know them. |
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14th century 19th century |
Misericords: Primarily plain corbels with grotesque heads Supporters: Conventional leaves |
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14th century |
Simply carved misericords, with simple supporters |
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14th century 19th century |
Misericords: Varied subject matter. Supporters are more of an extension to the main misericord design. |
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14th century |
An incredibly varied selection of misericord styles and quality - possibly due to each group being sponsored by different person. As is expected there are no supporters |
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14th century |
Simply carved misericords with no supporters |
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14th century |
Misericords: various subject matter. Extremely serpentine supporters. |
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14th century |
With one exception, the misericords depict heads. No supporters |
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14th century 15th century |
Although carved in 2 successive centuries, the misericords have enough similar properties to assume that the 15th century misericords were carved to match in with the 14th century examples. The 14th century misericords can be noted by the carvers mark of a twig. |
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14th century |
The misericords on the south side of the choir date from the 14th century, whilst those on the north date from the 16th. The example show a misericord from the 14th century |
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14th Century |
Some of the finest 14th century misericords in East Anglia. |
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14th century |
The supporters are probably the only consistent thing about New College Chapel - the misericords vary from plain vaults to the ornate, they are, even, different sizes and shapes. |
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14th Century |
Only a mile down a footpath from St Andrew’s Norton, and misericords that are equally good |
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14th century |
Gayton has two 14th century misericords and four 15th century misericords, although they all originate from Dunston Abbey, they are stylistically very different, hence I have created a second entry for Gayton Supporters: Forked. |
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14th or 15th century |
Heavily defaced with no supporters |
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Late 14th century 19th century |
Misericords: Heavy curved tops. |
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Late 14th century |
Misericords: 2 plain vaults with curly headed men as corbels. Supporters: Foliate When compared with misericords of a similar timeframe, these make you think of the word “provincial”, however, “elegant simplicity” also sums it up. |
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Late 14th century |
Misericords: Corbel with design. Forked supporters. |
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Late 14th century |
Misericords: a complete mixed bag - from mythological to cock fighting. Supporters: Varied |
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Late 14th century |
Misericords: various designs. Supporters: Foliate - left and right supporters match. |
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1370 - 1377 |
Misericords: Out of the 16 misericord, 7 show representations of people, one green man and the others are of various subjects. Supporters: either foliate or showing coats of arms. Forked. |
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1380 19th century |
Primarily a mixture of heraldic and foliate misericords Supporters: mainly foliate. |
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1390 |
A mixture of styles and content. Supporters: There seems no rhyme or reason why some have supporters and some do not. |
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1390 (19th and 20th centuries) |
Flat topped finely carved misericords with a mixture of content Supporters: Large branched. |
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1394 - 1399 |
Finely carved with much detail these misericords are doubly unusual as they have supporters - a rarity amongst continental misericords - which show people and animals that add to the narrative of the main misericord. |
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Misericord Location |
Comment |
Example |
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1400 |
Simply carved with curved tops. Supporters: Foliate, although most have been defaced |
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1410 |
Complex, beautifully carved misericords and supporters. It’s worth noting that the supporters are in all but on case branched, however, the branches differs significantly between the north and south misericords. |
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Early 15th century |
Shallow relief carvings |
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Early 15th century |
Primarily simple floral or heraldic, with the odd exception Branched supporters with simple designs |
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Early 15th century |
Misericords: Basic “V” shaped corbel terminating in a, small, simple design. Supporters: No Supporters. |
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Early 15th century |
Mainly heads with foliate supporters |
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1440 |
Misericords: Various subjects, including foliage and mythology - 1 may represent the myth of the founding of the priory. Supporters: Varied design, some forked, some with left and right mirrors. |
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1442 |
Note the length and style of the supporters, compared with Cartmel Priory’s. It is also worth comparing these misericords with the examples at Higham Ferrers, which were probably carved by the same artisan. |
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1445 19th century |
Some of the most beautiful mid-15th century misericord. The subject matter of both the misericords and the supporters is extremely varied. |
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15th century |
With only one misericord, and that has its carving missing, what can you say about its style? Supporters: Foliate. |
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15th century |
The three misericords in the chancel have supporters, whilst the 2 in the nave do not. |
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15th century |
Unfortunately, most of these misericords have been badly mutilated, although the supporters have been preserved. |
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15th century |
These misericords are of German or Belgian origin, so as one would expect have no supporters. Similar shape to St Denis |
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15th century |
Primarily foliate misericords, with foliate supporters. |
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15th century |
Origin Whalley Abbey Supporters: Leaf or fruit designs. Forked |
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15th century |
Whalley abbey must have had an extremely large number of misericords, as the 22 at St Mary’s purportedly also come from the Abbey. |
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15th century |
Of 3 misericords, 2 show the badges of local nobility, whilst the other has an angel holding a plain shield - were they expecting another sponsor? |
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15th century |
Simple carvings |
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15th century 20th century |
A great mix of myth, social history and humour - and this tradition has been carried on with the six mid 20th century additions. No supporters |
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15th century |
Misericord: Plain vaulting ending in a corbel, which has sadly been mutilated Supporters Foliate (Lozenge shaped acanthus leaves) |
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15th century |
Misericord and supporters: Varied. |
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15th century |
Interesting mix, some typically 15th century, some out of character. |
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15th century |
Misericords: None of the 3 misericords show any family resemblance to any of the others. Supporters: Foliate |
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15th century |
A set of Heads with foliate supporters. |
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15th century |
The misericords, and especially the supporters are carved in a very low relief. |
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15th century |
Misericords: Various subjects. Supporters: Relate to misericord narrative. |
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15th century |
Misericords: Mythological. Supporters: Forked, foliate. |
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15th century |
Gayton has two 14th century misericords and four 15th century misericords, although they all originate from Dunston Abbey, they are stylistically very different, hence I have created a second entry for Gayton Supporters: Forked |
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15th century |
The misericords probably originated at either Ramsey Abbey or Huntingdon Priory Misericords: Plain vaults with varied styles and content of corbels. Supporters: Foliate |
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15th century |
Except for the carver, the misericords are floral Supporters: Foliate / floral |
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15th century |
The misericords with their supporters probably date from about 1470 |
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15th century |
An important part of this group, “the Labours of the Months” |
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15th century |
Possibly carved by Richard Tyllock, the same carver who created the misericords at All Souls’ College chapel, Oxford under the instigation of Henry Chichele, Archbishop of Canterbury. |
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15th century |
Misericords: simple, clear designs. Supporters: Roses |
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15th century |
Misericords: Plain 4 sided vaults with castellated captials. Supporters: Serpentine sweeping foliate supporters. |
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15th century 19th century |
One would expect somewhere with the importance of Jesus College to have complex misericords, however this is true only in a small part. The 6 in the nave are original 15th century, whilst those in the chancel are plain corbels, designed by Pugin in the mid 19th century from fragments of 15th century misericords. They have great variation in the supporters. |
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15th century |
Misericords: Mythology, folk lore, and grotesques. Supporters: Foliate. |
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15th century |
The two misericords probably originated at Whalley Abbey |
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15th century |
Much damage has sadly occurred to the misericords and their supporters. |
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15th century |
Each misericord is a completely different style to its neighbour, some with supporters others without. |
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15th century |
With their slightly curved tops, and widely spread supporters, these misericords show the English influence of their “masters” - it is a true social history of the time. |
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15th Century |
3 beautifully carved misericords with supporters |
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15th century |
Only one misericord with non-mirrored supporters. |
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15th century 19th century |
The 15th and 19th century misericords are stylistically similar, but with wildly varying subject matter Supporters: None |
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15th century |
Wide variety of misericords. Interesting additional decoration on the supporters These misericords originated at Easby Abbey |
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15th century |
This church is remarkable for having a complete set of misericord carvings showing the monthly agricultural occupations of a village throughout the year. |
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15th century & 1, 20th century |
A selection of Saracen’s heads, and other beautiful misericords. The 20th century misericord is a memorial to a local lady. |
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15th century |
Misericords: A small design supports a plain corbel. Supporters: Right and left supporters are mirrors of each other. Forked. |
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15th century |
Five interesting misericords, originating either from France or the Low Countries. |
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15th century |
Probably the easiest description would be elaborate - even for 15th century misericords. |
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15th century |
Misericords: Simple vaults with head designs at the base. Supporters: No supporters. |
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15th century |
All are plain shields. |
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15th Century |
Misericords: A mixture of abstract design and mythology. Supporters: Foliate, some forked. |
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15th century |
Out of 3 misericords, 2 have complex carvings, whilst the other is uncarved |
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15th century |
Misericords: Heraldic and mythological. Supporters: range from plain to complex. |
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15th century |
Misericords: Simple vaults with head designs at the base. Supporters: Foliate. |
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15th century |
Misericords: Varied subject matter. Supporters: Complex foliate. |
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15th century 19th century |
With so few examples, it’s difficult to say what the style is. |
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Late 15th century |
Complex designs, with no supporters |
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Late 15th century |
Misericords: Simple floriated corbels with no supporters. |
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Late 15th Century |
Multiple subjects As one would expect from German misericords, no supporters. |
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1470 |
52 fine misericords, mainly biblical in subject. |
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1472 |
Only the one misericord, Pelican in her piety Supporters: Initials and shield |
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1482 |
Simple hollow mouldings Supporters branched, either with single leaf or foliate square |
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1483 |
Both of the misericords at Rotherham Minster depict heads, although one may be a devil. Supporters: Standard leaves. |
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1480 1515 19th century |
Comfortable looking deeply curved top to some, but not all of the misericords. |
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1489 - 1494 |
Shallow curve to the top of the misericords. Very fine detail. By the same school of carvers as Manchester Cathedral’s misericords Supporters: Forked |
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1499 - 1501 |
Exceptional quality and an incredible mix of subject matter. I’ve got to say, it’s amongst my personal favorites |
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Misericord Location |
Comment |
Example |
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1500 |
Twenty misericords with similar imagary - demi angels with human heads for supporters. Supporters are unbranched |
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1500 |
Nine, elegantly simple misericords |
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1510 |
Manchester Cathedral’s misericords are considered to be amongst the finest in Europe. It is worth noting that the fist representation of Backgammon is shown in misericord N-08. Misericords and supporters show a wide variety of subject matter. |
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1512 |
Mainly facial or animalistic misericords, but with two green men. As expected, no supporters |
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Early 16th century |
Supporters: Varied - Foliate, and complex scenes with their own story, often the left and right supporters show a different theme. |
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Early 16th century |
Biblical stories, mainly relating to Moses, Abraham, Jacob and Joseph, however, dress and building shows typical early 16th century styles. No supporters. |
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Early 16th century |
Quite complex carving in the main misericords, with supporters that integrate themselves to the central carving. |
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Early 16th century |
Misericords: Mainly mythological. Supporters: Although some of the supporters are missing, those that remain are foliate. |
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Early 16th century |
The misericords on the south side of the choir date from the 14th century, whilst those on the north date from the 16th. The example show a misericord from the 16th century |
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Early 16th century |
Misericords: Mixture of folk lore, mythology and biblical. Supporters: Some continue the main narrative, whilst others have no relationship. |
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Early 16th century |
Very simple misericords for such lat examples Supporters: Unusually the supporters are straight or concave rather than convex. |
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1508 - 1517 |
Extraordinarily fine carving detail. Painted, scalloped tops. Although there are no supporters, the whole of the back is finely carved in floral patterns. |
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1515 |
Christchurch has misericords from 3 distinct periods - 1250, 1350 and 1515, the example shown is from 1515, others are shown in their correct periods. The misericords from 1515 do have supporters |
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1515 - 1526 |
Fine detail carving to the misericords and supporters. |
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1520 |
As with the misericords from Manchester and Ripon Cathedrals, Beverley Minster’s misericords are the last in a wonderful line of misericords from the Ripon school of carvers. |
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1532 - 1548 |
A wonderful mix of biblical stories, classical myth and local proverbs The photo to the right is one of my favourites, “two men on hobby horses having a joust”. |
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Mid 16th century |
A typical french eclectic mix of subject matter including a woman giving birth! A rare survival for Paris. |
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1580 |
A fine mix of parable and myth. No supporters |
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16th century |
European misericords without supporters, in the middle of Gloucestershire. |
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Misericord Location |
Comment |
Example |
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17th century |
These misericords, in the Flemish style, were given to the church in 1931. They originated in Drakelow Hall. Notice the similarity between these and St Anne’s, Bruges. |
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17th century |
These twenty three Flemish misericords were imported in the first quarter of the 19th century. As expected, they do not have supporters. |
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1660 - 1690 |
For such late misericords, they have a remarkably 13th century feel to them. Supporters: Except for the misericord in St Oswald’s Church, the misericords do not have supporters |
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1682 19th century |
Copies of earlier misericords from several locations. |
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Misericord Location |
Comment |
Example |
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18th century |
Misericords: All heads Typical of continental misericords, they do not have supporters. |
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Misericord Location |
Comment |
Example |
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19th century |
Copies made in the 19th century by Pugin from fragments found in the Master’s residence. |
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Early 14th century 1881 |
Although only three are 14th century, the other 19 have been created sympathetically. Misericords: Mythological content. Supporters: Mythological content, |
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1882 |
These may be too modern for the purist, but they’ve been carved so sympathetically, one should not dismiss them without study. |
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Bristol_designs |
Chester Design |
Ely Design |
Exeter Design |
Gloucester Design |
Manchester Other Carvings |
Manchester Design |
Norwich Design |
Ripon Design |
Wells Design |
Worcester Design |
East Anglian Misericords |
Midlands Misericords |
Northern Misericords |
Scotland |
South East Misericords |
South West Misericords |
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Balsham Other Carvings |
Norwich Design |
Wingfield(Other_Carvings) |
Bakewell Design |
Great Malvern Design |
Ludlow Design |
Ripple Design |
Stratford-Upon-Avon designs |
Tideswell - Other Carvings |
Worcester Design |
Beverley Minster's Other Carvings |
Edinburgh National Museum of Antiquities of Scotland |
New College Design |
Bristol Design |
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Fairford Design |
Gloucester Design |
Sherborne Abbey Other Carvings |
Wells Design |
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Ammiens Design |
St Denis Other Items |
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Breda, Grote Kirk |
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