The small church in Bradford on Avon is one of the few Anglo Saxon churches to have survived and is one of the most complete. That it has done so is something of a miracle or an accident, seeing that it has been used as a church, a school and a cottage. The Victorian historian Canon Jones recognized the building as a church and it was restored in the 1870s. It is now used as a place of worship from time to time.
The church is
dedicated to Saint Laurence, one of the very early Christian martyrs. Churches
to this former deacon of Rome are often a sign of an earlier Christian
community in the area. Whether or not that is the case, the medieval historian
William of Malmesbury records that the church here existed in the 1120s.
William thought that it dated back to the time of the 8th century and that it was built by St Aldhelm. Aldhelm, of the royal house of Wessex, was the bishop of Sherborne and, after his death in 709, his body was known to have been brought to Bradford on Avon, maybe for burial in his church. That is possible, though the present building, from its architectural style, looks to be from the 10th century, which would fit a tradition that the church was intended to house to remains of King Edward the Martyr, the older brother of King Ethelred, who was murdered in 978, though Edward ended up buried in Shaftesbury Abbey.
The building is
very tall for its size and decorated with arcades, similar in style to those
seen above on Bosham church as represented on the Bayeux Tapestry. It has few windows and
these are small, while the doorways are tall and narrow. In Anglo-Saxon times the interior would have
been lit by candles. This sounds plain but there is evidence of decoration
around the doorways and in the plinth running around the walls. It’s probable
that the now whitewashed walls were painted, and in bright colors. This would
have given the church an impression of a jewel,
a very suitable spot for the resting place of a martyr king. Other decoration includes two stone angels, discovered
in the east wall of the nave, and a stone bowl, which is now used as a font.
The church is
important to show how the Anglo-Saxons viewed religious buildings as enclosed
yet airy sacred spaces, a great contrast with the larger Anglo-Norman churches
that came later. It reminds me of a sacred version of an Anglo-Saxon great hall,
an intimate and companionable space for worship.
Lindsay Townsend
Lindsay Townsend
