The Great Exhibition and Angel Roofs, News from LWHS

Dickinson's impression of the Great Exhibition of 1851

I am indebted as ever to Andy Sheppard for an excellent review of the last talk at Little Waldingfield Historial Society which was about the Great Exhibition.  This is a fascinating topic and I was sorry not to be able to attend. 

 The review can be read on the tab above.

 I shall be pulling out the stops to get along to the Society's December offering.  I have been fascinated by the wonderful phenomenon that is an Angel Roof ever since I was bussed up from London to March in my early 20's on a course that attempted to teach me how to become a 'driver guide' during my university holiday.  I had a few clients, but got hopelessly lost once in west London looking for Syon Park and rather lost confidence.    The roof of March church is truly wonderful, but only one of  several that can be enjoyed in the region.

On next month's talk Andy writes:

At our next talk, Michael Rimmer will introduce us to the Angel Roofs of East Anglia and reveal the history and development of these fascinating works of art. As he notes in his book of the same name (highly recommended by the way) “Nowhere outside England can be found such a series of magnificent timber roofs as those of which Westminster Hall and the angel roofs of East Anglia are examples".

Between 1395 and about 1530, several hundred were built in England; more than 140 survive to this day, almost exclusively in churches, predominantly in East Anglia and particularly in Suffolk and Norfolk. More than 90% of England’s figurative medieval art was obliterated during the Reformation and it is incredibly fortuitous that angel roofs were simply too high to reach.

Michael’s outstanding photographs will unveil to us all the astonishing detail and remarkable visual quality of these fantastic ecclesiastical objects, which date from Tudor times and before. This talk will make a great introduction to the festive season, and we very much look forward to welcoming guests new and old to the Parish Room on Wednesday 7th December for what is going to be a most wonderful introduction to this fascinating piece of our shared heritage.

The Angel Roof at March in Cambridgeshire