Past SWAG Visits

Kilpeck Church and Abbey Dore

Visited in September 2006.

Kilpeck Church, Herefordshire  

Grid reference SO 4430     OS map     Google satellite image

Kilpeck lies close to the Welsh border, approximately eight miles south-west of Hereford, just off the A465 Abergavenny Road. The name of Kilpeck means 'the cell of St Pedic (or Pedoric)' as it derives from the Welsh 'Kil' meaning monastic cell or hermitage, and the name 'Pedic'/'Pedoric'. Besides boasting what Pevsner calls 'one of the most perfect Norman village churches in England', in the centre of the village (across the railway line from the church), Kilpeck holds the remains of a motte and bailey, Kilpeck Castle, part of the 8th Century fortified enclave set up in the time of Offa, and later rebuilt by William FitzNorman after the Conquest. The Church of St Mary and St David (not the St David, but a local one) is believed to have been built around 1135/40 by William's son Hugh, who also built a monastery close by. Although little remains of the monastery, the church is particularly well preserved and relatively unaltered, all things considered. From the big stones at the nave's north-east corner, it would appear an older Saxon church stood here before. The style of sculpture of the South doorway (see picture, right) is very close to that of Shobdon church (although Kilpeck's is in much better condition) and would appear to have come from the same time. And it is the sculpture which is Kilpeck's most exciting feature. Much of the work at Kilpeck is unique in Britain, and it is widely accepted as the best example of the 'Herefordshire School' style of carving.

©2007 Dennis Williams

©2007 Dennis Williams

The nave doorway, the 80 corbels encircling the outside, the chancel arch, the windows of the apse and the ribs of the vaulting are all rich with well-preserved carvings of curious design. All manner of humans and creatures, real and imaginary, are depicted, together with various motifs and decorative sculpture, although in some places, gaps exist where Victorians took exception to some of the pieces and removed them. Not all appear to have any religious significance, and they are not all of the same quality - the doorway would appear to have had the attention of a master craftsman while inside the church some of the work is not to the same standard. The carvings are organic, almost pagan, and very different from the geometric carvings one might normally expect to find in Norman work, and there is much speculation over the inspiration for the various sculptures. One sees Celtic and Nordic - on the doorway, the fat snake-like dragons are said to be Viking, of the Ringerike style, as are the dragon heads at the corners; the beakheads are a Reading motif; the shafts are very similar to those of Shobdon; but there is less agreement over the source of the figures on one of the shafts - perhaps Santiago or Ferrara. Over the top of the doorway is a tympanum (the space between the lintel of a doorway and the arch above it) containing the Tree of Life; at the top of right-hand pillar is a Green Man. The variety is immense and the little church and its surroundings are well worth a visit.

Abbey Dore, Herefordshire

Abbey Dore lies in the Golden Valley on the road between Vowchurch and Pontrillas, in west Herefordshire    OS map     Google satellite image

Formerly Dore Abbey, the church to St Mary at Abbey Dore is now something of a shadow of what once stood here - albeit a large shadow for what is now really little more than a village church. The abbey was founded for Cistercians (or White Monks) from Morimond in 1147 (just a few years after the building of Kilpeck church, above), although it would seem that there was an extensive rebuild around 1175 which continued for thirty or more years, although no exact dates are known. The building was left unmaintained after the Dissolution and fell into decay but in about 1663 Lord Scudamore restored the parts which still stand today. When first built, the church was of the standard Cistercian design for the time but before building had been completed, thanks in part to the profits gained from the sale of the monks' high-quality wool, the chancel was lengthened and other modifications included, the result being similar to Citeaux. Byland Abbey in North Yorkshire and Waverley in Surrey were of similar plan.

©2007 Dennis Williams

Today, the village church occupies the eastern part of the cross. The monastic quarters have all but disappeared and almost all of the church's nave has gone: only the crossing, transepts (pictured, left), and chancel remain, together with a 17th Century tower (see picture above), from the abbey's restoration. Faded paintings can be seen on the walls: David with harp, Father Time with his scythe, and on the west wall a panelled gallery on oak pillars. Under Lord Scudamore's restoration, the oak chancel screen was designed by John Able, the King's Carpenter, who also masterminded the oak roof with its typical mediaeval mouldings and carvings. The two 13th Century armoured knights and the sculptured bishop of the same time are the oldest monuments in the church, and there are some heraldic tiles in the chancel, also believed to come from the 13th Century. The ancient 12-foot altar stone is said to have been discarded after the Dissolution of the Monasteries and later found on a farm. Above it is a window with 17th Century glass and in the south chapel the windows have fragments of 15th Century glass, including a kneeling woman and a mitred bishop. Also present are a Jacobean-style pulpit with a rather elaborate canopy, and Jacobean-style pews. Interesting fragments lie around, such as a set of large-figured bosses depicting the Coronation of the Virgin, Christ in Majesty, a monk kneeling before an abbot, and others, which are dated to the early 14th Century.