The
priory at Much Wenlock has been founded twice over. It was originally founded
in 680 by the Mercian king, Merewalh. Nepotism saw his daughter, Milburga, installed
as abbess, whose convenient raising to sainthood served to bring in funds.
The Normans refounded Wenlock as a Cluniac priory. There are remains of
the thirteenth-century priory church, and of a beautifully blind-arcaded chapter
house of circa 1140. The infirmary wing survived the Dissolution of 1540, and
remains intact as a private residence (above).
In the cloister garth is a 16-position lavabo (top), ornamented with carvings of the twelfth century, used for the washing of hands before entering the nearby refectory. It is now surrounded by a number of topiary forms.
These are fantastic photographs, but something worries me about changing them to B&W with non traditional photography; perhaps you need to build a proper darkroom? Then you can dodge and burn etc.
ReplyDeleteNot changed into B&W, but captured as such - but agree that film is actually better for monochrome, as it has more depth and grain.
ReplyDelete