Wimborne Minster (church)

The former abbey church of Wimborne Minster in the same southern English city is St.. Cuthburga, sister of Ine, king of the West Saxons, consecrated.

History

The present church is probably in the same place as the abbey church of around 705 founded here by Cuthburga Benedictine monastery. Around the year 720 came later canonized Walpurga, the daughter of an affluent (maybe even the royal family ) in the monastery and remained there for 26 years until her uncle, the hl. Boniface, and her brothers Wunibald and Willibald followed on a mission trip to southern Germany. Already around the year 735 was the hl. Leoba who had been brought up about the same time in the monastery of Wimborne, left for Germany. In the 8th century, the ladies also a monastery was added. In the year 871 was Alfred the Great, king of Wessex, his deceased brother Ethelred be buried in the Abbey - the tomb, however, is missing.

Church

Architecture

The present church with the dimensions of about 60 m (length) and 16.50 m (width of the nave ) is a conglomerate of various stages of construction, with most dating back to Norman construction activities 1120-1180 - from this period, the nave of the nave with its jagged arches and approximately 25.50 m high and still maßwerklose crossing tower, which is designed in the Norman tradition as a lantern tower and outside shows the typical of the Norman architecture intersecting arcs. Around 1220 ( Early English ) of the construction was a - in England rather rare - crypt. In the 14th century ( Decorated Style) was sheathed the Norman nave and later demolished; while maintaining the arches of the nave remain. Moreover, the two transepts were enlarged and provided with larger windows in the taste of the time; also emerged in the choir chapel area two extensions and side altars. The approximately 29 m high West Tower, which - in contrast to Norman crossing tower - will be accompanied by four corner towers oktogalen, is an ingredient of the 15th century ( Perpendicular ), after which refer mainly the windows with their vertical Maßwerklinien in the arch. The entire structure is built from a combination of limestone from Dorset and stones from the New Forest.

Interior of the church - > Vests

Crossing tower / lantern tower

Crypt

Equipment

• From Norman times some stone figures come in the nave, including Moses with skein-shaped raised braided beard and the two tables of the law in his right hand.
• A located next to the altar brass plate ( brass plate) from the 14th century, one of the oldest in England, recalls the lost tomb king Ethelred.
• John Beaufort, Duke of Somerset, and his wife Margaret - the maternal grandparents of Henry VII - are buried beneath a made ​​of alabaster and Purbeck marble tomb. The two reclining figures ( gisants ) are shown with folded hands; their heads resting on finely embroidered pillows and are accompanied by angels. At the feet of the man dressed as a knight is a lion as a symbol of his strength and the feet of the woman a dog as a sign of their loyalty.
• Noteworthy is a small astronomical clock, which was probably constructed around 1320 and is one of the oldest of its kind in Europe. The later revised front page shows a geocentric model of the world as it was in Europe still in use until the 16th century. The clock was originally located in the central tower, but was later transferred to the West Tower. It is coupled with the figure of a uniformed and two hammers holding in the hands of bells racket ( Quarter Jack ) from the 19th century, which replaced an older monk figure.
• The organ from 1664 is from the workshop of Robert Hayward of Bath. It is one of the oldest surviving church organs England and has been repeatedly restored and expanded in the 19th and 20th centuries.
• The abbey had one of the first public libraries in England from the year 1686th The precious books were chained from precautions against theft ( chained library).
• The figure occupied the pulpit is a work of the 19th century.

Astronomical clock

Jack Quarter ( Jacquemart )

Tomb of John Beaufort and his wife Margaret (15th century)