The tiny church of St Michael, Duntisbourne Rouse is on a dramatic site on the hillside overlooking the valley of the river Dunt in the Cotswolds. The nave is essentially Saxon (11th century) and to this were added a chancel in the twelfth century, with a crypt below, and the small Perpendicular tower in the fifteenth century.
The interior of the chancel received a makeover in the thirteenth century and retains a lot of its wallpaintings from that time.
The crypt is an atmospheric space and it too had wallpaintings, one can be seen to the left of the window.
Here is a detail of that wallpainting, the figure of a male saints. Sadly it’s too far gone to be identified. When new this must have been a vibrant and colourful space.
I dream of seeing this church one day – so evocative. The crypt mural, despite it’s condition, was clearly a refined work of art.
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Even in its present condition the figure is a vivid, powerfully-drawn work. Is the original function of the crypt known?
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Are the tiny windows in the tower typical?
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I’m not certain that the original function is known. I have to concur that the work clearly was of high quality, so it is odd that it was placed in such a position.As for the size of the tower windows Billy, they seem to be fairly typical of small churches in this remote part of Gloucestershire.
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In 1955 and 1956, my brother, sister and I lived with our parents in the Old Rectory. The church was in our “backyard” and we spent many hours there. Even then we knew not to touch anything but it was fun exploring around it.Of course, we had no idea of its antiquity.
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