Down Ampney, Gloucestershire is the birthplace of Ralph Vaughan Williams. The beautiful village church has a transitional north arcade, c.1200, with very early stiff leaf capitals. The arches are delightfully stencilled with a rather erratic powdering of ochre roses. This decoration is so wonderfully rustic and haphazard, notice the stencilling of the centre arch hasn’t even been completed!
Powdered arches
Any idea as to when the stenciling dates?
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Notably it's also present on the north (later) arcade.
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Indeed it is Davis, they really went to town with it. To hazard a guess I suspect it's late 13th or early 14th century.
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Despite loving Ralph Vaughan Williams's music, have never visited his birthplace. What a fascinating and enlightening introduction to his father's chuch. The stencilling looks rather timeless: beautiful.
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Thanks for the photos. Down Ampney is my favourite tune. Nice to have some visuals associated with it now.Fr. Dan
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