Pickering Church
After leaving Wharram Percy, our archaeology field trip took us to the town of Pickering in east Yorkshire, where we visited Pickering Church, which was established in the 11th century on the suspected site of an Anglo-Saxon church. This area was devastated by the "Harrying of the North", which took place all over the north of England in the late 11th century, when William the Conqueror was subjugating his new territories. The re-use of Anglo-Saxon masonry in the walls of Pickering Church has led scholars to believe a previous church on this site may have been destroyed at that time. One of the most startling discoveries here was the poly-chrome wall paintings inside the church, which were found during renovations, under the plaster-work in the nave of the church.
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| Sunshine and Flowers |
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| Re-used Saxon Masonry |
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| A Beasty |
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| Time... |
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| Saint Christopher carrying Jesus |
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| Saint George and the Dragon |
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| Sunshine |
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| King Herod, Salome, and John the Baptist |
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| Coronation of the Virgin |
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| Stone mason's mark. |
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| The Life of Saint Katherine |
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| The Fires of Doom Swallowing The Damned |
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| Capital of a column in the nave. |
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| Medieval knight's alabaster tomb cover |
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| The Knights crossed legs means this Knight had been on Crusade more than once. |
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| Check out the mustache on that Knight! |
We ended our visit to Pickering with a walk up to the castle gate at the top of town. This is the view across the valley to another Mot and Bailey site. Another great day!
