Foreword
Introduction
Photographs and Explanatory Captions
Bibliography and Links
Michael Rimmer studied classics at Oxford University before becoming an investment manager and photographer. In 2010 he set out to create the first comprehensive photographic record of every angel roof in East Anglia. He lives in Norfolk and lectures regularly on angel roofs.
'Look at this book and give thanks that these angelic hosts
were beyond the reach of the destroyers. Here for the first
time they are rightly celebrated as a precious legacy from
late medieval England.'
Sir Roy Strong, Art historian and former director of the National
Portrait Gallery and V&A Museum
Michael Rimmer allows us to enter worlds that are otherwise remote.
His text provides privileged access to the minds both of the
medieval kings and carpenters who produced the roofs, and the early
modern religious vandals who diminished them. But the greatest
privilege is to see the roofs themselves through his camera
lens. As we move from distant views of angels in whole ranks
to close-ups of their faces and their attributes, we seem to hear
the music of their instruments and the song of their voices, even
feel the fluttering of those magic wings. To hold this book in
your hands is to gain early entry to Paradise.
Professor John Onians, Professor Emeritus of World Art, University
of East Anglia
The cultural revolution that shook the British Isles during the
sixteenth and seventeenth centuries destroyed so much of the
evidence of our vibrant earlier liturgical life. This wonderful
book documents one of the major survivals of Roman Catholic England
in meticulously researched text and the most sumptuous colour
photographs. The late Gothic style of perpendicular
architecture demanded elaborate roofs, and the angels that
fluttered above the faithful were at once a vision of heaven and an
articulate statement of orthodox Catholic doctrine. Michael
Rimmer's exhaustive survey of the angel roofs of East Anglia and
beyond will provide the essential companion to these treasures for
years to come.
Simon Knott, Creator of The Churches of East Anglia websites
Angel roofs are one of the glories of English carpentry and
woodcarving. They are predominantly located in parish churches in
East Anglia and adjoining counties where so many stunning buildings
were created between 1400 and the Reformation. Despite some damage
they survive in considerable numbers. Examples from thirty-five
different churches are represented in Michael Rimmer's outstanding
photographs, which reveal the visual quality of these works of art,
in many cases for the first time. The book also has an accessible
and stimulating introduction in which he sets out major issues in
the study, history and development of this largely neglected but
fascinating subject.
Professor T.A. Heslop, Professor of Visual Arts, University of East
Anglia
The Angel Roofs of East Anglia is a wonderful book about a
remarkable form of medieval English architecture. In the Middle
Ages, English carpenters designed and built a number of the world's
most innovative and ingenious timber framed buildings. Hammer beam
roofs, some of which were adorned with carved and painted angels -
most notably the one completed in 1399 that spans the Hall of
Westminster Palace - were the English carpenter's most spectacular
achievement. Rimmer's book explains and celebrates a
forgotten but truly awe-inspiring type of craftsmanship and
construction.
David Leviatin, Editor of The Mortice and Tenon Magazine
The Angel Roofs of East Anglia captures perfectly the sheer beauty
and fun of this amazing feature of East Anglian churches. The
angels tell us so much about the history not only of the churches
that they adorn but the craftspeople who created them. The Churches
Conservation Trust is enormously proud to look after some of the
amazing places photographed in the book; I think that when people
see what treasures exist on their doorsteps Angel Roofs will
inspire a whole new generation to visit and enjoy this country's
historic churches.
Crispin Truman, Chief Executive of The Churches Conservation
Trust
Thank you for . . . your breathtaking photographs of the angels in
Westminster Hall. They are magnificent images.
Lt Col E. Lloyd-Jukes OBE,
Yeoman Usher, Black Rod's Department, House of Lords
Michael Rimmer's book is outstanding. His magisterial survey of
every angel roof in the country focuses largely on the rich
heritage to be found in Norfolk and Suffolk. The photography is
superb and the text provides fascinating details of the history,
construction and craftsmanship of these masterpieces in oak dating
mainly from the 1400s. It is a happy thought that the author
dedicates the work in part to the soul of the craftsman known as
the Methwold Master.
D.P. Mortlock, author of The Guide to Suffolk Churches and, with
C.V. Roberts, The Guide to Norfolk Churches
This is a gem of a book. If you want to discover something of an
inheritance, something of how the visual and the spiritual can
encourage each other, something of the wonder of faith and skill of
human hands dedicated to the glory of God, then read this book.
Neil Thorogood, Reform Magazine, February 2016
"I've discovered a book that brings together all that's mysterious
and magnificent about our medieval churches.
|
Ask a Question About this Product More... |
|
