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Medieval Graffiti Profile picture
@MedievalG
Dec 5, 2021 • 6 tweets • 3 min read • Read on X
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Alphamstone church, Essex.
The church is unusual, reputedly built on a Bronze Age burial mound, with sarsens built in to the wall - but nowhere near as weird as some of the vicars and rectors throughout history.
A short thread.
My favourite has to be Nicholas le Grice, the Tudor vicar who recorded all his good works on the walls in graffiti.
'This chancel was repaired with new timber work by me Nicholas le Gryce, Parson, Anno 1578'
In case you missed it the first time...

Le Grice wasn't just known for his 'good' works.
In the 1570s he was repeatedly in trouble - and in court - for illegally enclosing the local common land for his own use and profit.
Not the smartest cookie either...
To save cash Nicholas insisted his new young housemaid share a bed with his teenage son.
Unsurprisingly the maid ended up with child.
So he fired her, and sent his son away.
He didn't record THAT on the walls...
Nicholas was not the only priest to make heir mark, and the walls of the church are covered in graffiti, from the medieval to the early modern, including some very fine compass drawn examples.
And there's magic on the walls...
Perhaps most unusual amongst all the graffiti is this rather degraded example of a 'Rotas square' - a quasi-magical Christian symbol that had its origins back in the Roman period.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sator_Squ…

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More from @MedievalG

Medieval Graffiti Profile picture
Jul 3, 2022
Amongst all the early graffiti that we record the most common single type of inscription are those known as 'apotropaic markings' - sometimes called 'ritual protection marks', or as they are still called in parts of Europe, 'holy signs'.
A thread. Examples of typical apotropaic marks.
These are also sometimes misreferred to as 'Witch marks'. A term that was made up by a journalist in very recent decades. A true 'witch mark' is the mark found on a witch's body that signified his/her pact with the devil. C17th woodcut. Matthew Hopkins, witchfinder general. Worked
'Apotropaic' marks (from the Greek meaning to 'turn away') were thought to 'ward off' evil, and in particular evil spirits and the evil-eye. They were a physical manifestation of the spiritual protection offered by the Church. example of graffiti surface from Cowlinge church, Suffolk.
Read 21 tweets
Medieval Graffiti Profile picture
Apr 19, 2022
Binham priory in north Norfolk is one of the most complete set of monastic ruins to be found anywhere in England - and it is certainly one of the most important sites in relation to the architectural history of medieval England.
A thread. Image
The priory was founded as a Benedictine monastery in 1091, by the nephew of William the Conqueror - Peter de Valoines. And to quote English Heritage 'many of its priors were unscrupulous and the history of the priory is one of almost continuous scandal'. Nice! Image
In the C13th the priory began a massive building programme - rebuilding the whole of the nave and the west front. However, the work carried on in fits and starts, so as fashions changed, so did the style of architecture. From Romanesque to Early English gothic in one arcade! Image
Read 18 tweets
Medieval Graffiti Profile picture
Jan 14, 2022
If anyone was wondering about the Tudor ship with a silly name, it was this one. The 'Grand Mistress'. Built in the last years of the reign of Henry VIII as a 'galleas' - a hybrid between oars and sail power designed as a counter measure the French galleys. Image
The Grand Mistress was built here - at @SmallhytheNT
Now a rather sedate National Trust property, it was once a major player in the medieval and Tudor shipbuilding industry. The Grand Mistress was one of their last major royal contracts in 1544/5. Image
@SmallhytheNT The ship was rushed to join the royal fleet in 1545, so new she hadn't yet been officially named and had no captain, and on July 19th fought in the Battle of the Solent - which saw the tragic loss of the Mary Rose. @MaryRoseMuseum Image
Read 4 tweets
Medieval Graffiti Profile picture
Jan 14, 2022
Spent part of the week hunting down records of Tudor ships with silly names, and came to realise just how much ship graffiti I've recorded over the years.
So a brief chronology of crap, & not so crap, ship graffiti through the ages. Image
This is probably one of the earliest from a secure context (leaving aside the spurious 'viking' example from Stow Minster).
Mid-C14th from Blackfriars Barn undercroft in Winchelsea.
'Possibly' created to commemorate the 'Battle of Winchelsea' in 1350.
Told you some were crap. Image
Of rather better quality are the examples from St Margaret's church, Cley, in Norfolk.
This rather lovely example of a Cog, or 'Kogger', probably dates to the late C14th. A typical trading vessel that would have been seen all around the North Sea basin. Image
Read 13 tweets
Medieval Graffiti Profile picture
Jan 1, 2022
In north-west Norfolk there is a very well known, and rather fantastic, group of C12th fonts. All stunning masterpieces, and sometimes suggested to have come from the same workshop.
Unlikely.
A short thread. Castle Rising.SculthorpeToftreesWarham
No one can really agree how many fonts are in the group, as some of the simpler examples, such as this at Bagthorpe, are often overlooked.
And some of them are stylistically rather different from many of the others, such as here at Shernbourne.
In fact, as a group, they aren't really much of a group, They are so diverse in detail and style that they are unlikely to be from the same workshop.
Read 7 tweets
Medieval Graffiti Profile picture
Dec 3, 2021
Salle church, Norfolk.
A church revered by many as one of the finest late medieval examples in England, and where even the mason's marks are things of beauty. ImageImage
Salle church is also unusual in having surviving external graffiti.
'James A Dunnett & John Dunnett 1754'
Making their mark for all to see. Image
And definitely a hard one to beat for #FontsOnFriday
The massive medieval font and font cover from Salle in Norfolk. I think we can safely say that this one is still in situ... Image
Read 4 tweets

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