Wymondham Abbey Tour

From left to right, Matthew – the winged man, Mark – the winged lion, Luke – the winged ox, and John – the eagle.

The angels carrying shields which picture from left to right: the Instruments of the Passion (these are symbols which are related to Christ’s sufferings), the trinity symbol, the three crowns of East Anglia and three chalices.

This was probably made in the mid-fifteenth century as others of similar design in East Anglia were. It was originally sited at the west end of the nave and was coloured and gilded; some of that paint can still be seen. Each side is carved with one of the evangelists: a man for St Matthew; a lion for St Mark; an ox for St Luke; and an eagle for St John. Part of these has been defaced but there is no known date for that, but could have been done during the iconoclasm of Edward VI’s short reign (1547-1553) when a great deal of church art was sequestered, stolen, damaged or destroyed.

The font cover was given to the Abbey in the 1950s in memory of Canon Jarvis, it was designed by Cecil Upcher. A pulley of some kind lifts most covers of this nature, but this one is too tall for that and a hinged door arrangement allows access to the original lead lining of the font. It is in regular use.

 

Statue of Our Lady and Child

This was given to the Abbey in 1946 by Maurice Parker and is another of Comper’s designs. A blue light is kept burning day and night in honour of Our Lady.