Guild Chapel, Stratford
This is the Guild Chapel. It's right beside New Place, which was Shakespeare's final house. The Guild of the Holy Cross was already in existence in 1269 when Bishop Godfrey Giffard of Worcester granted a licence to the brethern of the Guild to build a chapel, which they did.
The present fabric of the chancel of the Chapel incorporates portions of the original building, but the nave and tower were added int he fifteenth century.
The chapel is probably most well known for this big painting here, which is a mural representing the Day of Judgement, otherwise known as the Doom. It was painted shortly after the year 1500. Even though it is faded, it was one of the largest surviving versions of its kind in Britain. It once formed part of a series of frescoes that lines the walls of the Guild Chapel. Shakespeare's father was obliged to supervise the defacements of these decorations while serving as a Chamberlain to the Corportation of Stratford in 1563, the year before William Shakespeare was born.
More than twenty of the lost painting were discovered under whitewash in 1804, but those in the chancel did not survive the renovation to the Chapel undetaken in that year, and several of the others perished in 1835, when a gallery was erected at the west of the nave.
Following the removal of this gallery in November 1955, the last of the existing frescoes were brought to light. They are now preserved behind hinged sections of the wall. I assume that if you had a person working at the church they could show you - but no one was there when I visited.
Lovely stained glass, though. Not sure how old it is.
This is looking back from the front of the church. Yep, I was all alone in there.
I like the skull.
You can see some of the remnants of the painting on this wall.
These were an artist's reconstruction of the paintings in the church - what they would've looked like when brand new.
And here's what they look like now. Most of the color has faded, except for the green.
Again, quite a few strange gargoyles around here. The last one looks as though he's got a tongue-ring.
The brown buildings attached to the church make up the King Edward VI Grammer School. Shakespeare was apparently educated here, and it is still a school. The old school room (from the original school) is still used as a classroom here. You can't visit, because it's still a school.
These white houses, which are also attached to the church and school, are the almshouses. They were built in the early 15th century to provide homes for 'aged local people'. Apparently it is still used for this purpose. Awful pretty place to live!
Lovely stained glass, though. Not sure how old it is.
This is looking back from the front of the church. Yep, I was all alone in there.
I like the skull.
You can see some of the remnants of the painting on this wall.
These were an artist's reconstruction of the paintings in the church - what they would've looked like when brand new.
And here's what they look like now. Most of the color has faded, except for the green.
Again, quite a few strange gargoyles around here. The last one looks as though he's got a tongue-ring.
The brown buildings attached to the church make up the King Edward VI Grammer School. Shakespeare was apparently educated here, and it is still a school. The old school room (from the original school) is still used as a classroom here. You can't visit, because it's still a school.
These white houses, which are also attached to the church and school, are the almshouses. They were built in the early 15th century to provide homes for 'aged local people'. Apparently it is still used for this purpose. Awful pretty place to live!Up next we're off to Warwick castle!
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