We might have missed it, tucked in amid all the other Medieval buildings, but the parish church was for us the best feature of Ludlow, a five-banger in Simon Jenkins' England's Thousand Best Churches, said by some to be the third largest of all England's parish churches. Construction of the current building began in the late 12th century with modifications in the 14th and 19th centuries. It has been beautifully maintained and is certainly one of the finest "Wool Churches" we have seen.
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| West window |
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| Nave |
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| Ceiling |
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| Elevation |
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A first for us...a fully self-contained toilet and washroom, plopped down right in the northwest corner of the nave (next to the coffee shop, tables and chairs)...one is seeing restrooms installed in cathedrals here and there, but, for us, this is a parish church first... |
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Adjacent also to the social area...churches in the UK are
increasingly returning to their community function, which
is fine... |
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| Old organ, refurbished in the 19th and 20th centuries |
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Now admiring the window in the Lady Hall...interestingly,
a Jesse "tree" |
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| So it's bad enough you have to spend the rest of eternity doing a plank... |
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| You have to do it in the store room?! |
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| Crossing |
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Altar and great east window...about St. Laurence,
a rich guy who got grilled, literally, for advocating the
cause of the poor, in 3rd century Rome |
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| Among the tombs, memorials |
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| More windows |
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The misericords in Ludlow are fewer in number than a cathedral's,
but of no less interest...some even more rowdy than what we saw in
Chester |
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| Wrestling match? |
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| Mermaid |
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| Tap woman |
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| "When are they going to invent elastic?" |
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| North choir stall |
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| Chancel ceiling |
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| Abaft the beam |
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Very rarely seen...this is the old carillon-playing machine...sort of like a
player-piano, only heavy-jumbo to ring the big bells |
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| And oldish radiators |
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