Polychromy and England’s externally painted Medieval Cathedrals and Churches

Many of England’s Medieval Churches and Cathedrals were once adourned with brightly coloured exteriors. Studies of the Polychromy shows that these include the painting of friezes and statues to illuminate the key messages from biblical texts [and notable people linked to sites] that they portray. 

Polychromy: Examples of exterior paintwork on England’s Medieval Cathedrals

Canterbury Cathedral

At Canterbury Cathedral there has been extensive research into the polychromy incorporated into the Christ Church Gate, a famed entrance to the Cathedral close. Unlike exterior paintings on places of worship themselves, this, whilst still being on ecclesiastical buildings, does not illustrate important religious teachings, or segments of biblical text. Instead, the painting here is largely heraldic. It incorporates the Royal symbols of the portcullis, Tudor Rose, and Royal Coat of Arms.

Link: Canterbury Cathedral: Cathedral’s Restored, Iconic Christ Church Gate Revealed

Link: Canterbury Archaeology Trust. Christ Church Gate. Includes images of painted sections.

Christchurch Gate, Canterbury Cathedral. Painted heraldry.

Exeter Cathedral

Exeter Cathedral has an image screen attached to it’s front. It was added in three stages over the 14th and 15th centuries, with the final stages being completed during the Wars of the Roses, probably in 1460. The image screen depicts many people from the Bible. It is known that the screen was painted during the medieval era. The polychromy has been reimagined by several artisits based on research and the remaining evidence of paints from the statues that make up the screen.

Also see: Exeter Cathedral, the Image Screen.

Lincoln Cathedral – Western Frieze

The Frieze above the Western Entrance to Lincoln Cathedral is a replacement of the 12th century original: which is now inside the Cathedral with conservation work ongoing. The frieze includes a number of scenes from the Old and New Testmanent. It depicts Christ as the Saviour and the Harrowing of Hell along with images of Adam and Eve, Noah’s Ark and other well known biblical tales. Originally the frieze was brightly coloured, using red, blue, green and yellow to make the frieze stand out. This would send a very visible message to hose entering the Cathedral and reinforces the teachings of the church.

The cleaning of the Western Frieze was untertaken quite recently and took into account the fact that there are some remnants of the 12th century paintwork in evidence. That paintwork did not simply fade over time, rather it was painted over with a limewash in the 18/19th century. This marked the end of the frieze being brightly coloured and with weathering and pollutants began to resemble the non painted stonework around it. Details of how the site was cleaned, including a historic assessment of the polychrony on this external frieze, can be found here.

The polychromy of this frieze has been subject to academic study.

Crawford, Cassandra. Investigating the polychromy of Lincoln’s Romanesque frieze panels, and its contribution to the architectonics and overall rhetoric of the Cathedral. November 2013. Journal of Architectural Conservation 19(3):198-231 Via Researchgate or Taylor and Francis Online.

Taylor, David. The early west front of Lincoln Cathedral: the threshold to the Heavenly Jerusalem? March 2024, Archaeological Journal. Via Researchgate

For examples of polychromy from inside Lincoln Cathedral see this page.

Norton Priory

At Norton Priory a research project has revealed the interior and exterior paintwork that once existed at the site. Using techniques first employed at Amiens Cathedral, France, they have since utilised modern technologies to illuminate a small sculpture of St. Christopher as it once would have looked. The research and evidence summaries note that polychromy was evident internally and externally, but do not specifically state where the sculpture of St. Christopher, below, once stood. So it may be internal or external.

Links on Norton Priory polychromy

Casio – Case Study into the use of Casio lamps to reimagine the painted sculptures at Norton Priory.

Guardian – article about the utilisation of modern lighting techniques to visualise the way in which medieval sites, including Norton Priory, once looked.

Salisbury Cathedral

The Western Front of Salisbury Cathedral was one painted, in part at least. Limited visual evidence remains of the polychomy today. That which is visible is around the statue of the Virgin Mary above the entrance to the Cathedral. It is thought that all of the statues in the central part of the front were painted. Others may have been but I have yet to see any evidence to confirm or deny that.

Whilst the remaining paint externally is limited and hard to see it is possible to gain an insight into styles and intricacy from looking at the internal medieval polychromy.

There is also very visible polychromy on some of the entry gates into the Cathedral Close. As with the entrances to some other Cathedrals these are heraldic rather than biblical.

Salisbury Cathedral Polychromy Links

Matthew M. Reeve: The Thirteenth-Century Wall Painting of Salisbury Cathedral

Conservation, repair, and research projects at Salisbury Cathedral

Welles Cathedral

The Western Front of Wells Cathedral was once painted. This is evident through traces of paint that remain on masonry. The face of the cathedral is renowned for its splendid sculpures. In the medieval era these larger than life characterisations of biblical figures, angels, and saints were in full colour. The front of the Cathedral has been reimagined several times based upon the remaining paint traces and research undertaken alongside restoration projects.

Wells Cathedral Western Front Links

Wells Cathedral West Front Resoration Project.

Non English Examples of External Polychromy

Amiens Cathedral, Northern France

Amiens Cathedral, like many French religious sites,  was once painted externally as well as internally. The Dean and Chapter at Amiens decided to make use of modern lighting technologies to recreate the original colours that once adourned the external walls. Based on polychromy research, they have since been using a light show at night to visualise Ameins Cathedral as it was originally intended to look. This technique is the one that inspired Norton Priory to illuminate the sculpture of St. Christopher, as shown above.

Bukovina

The Painted Churches of Bukovina, in Northern Moldova, date from the 15/16th centuries and are largely contemporary to the Wars of the Roses period. These churches are a World Heritage Site. There are 8 churches included in the UNESCO designation. They are all entirely covered internally and externally with original polychromy.

General Links on Medieval Polychromy

Simon Jenkins: Europe’s cathedrals are the true wonders of the world, and were once daubed in colour — it’s time they were once more

Foyle, Jonathan. Some examples of external colouration on English brick buildings, c. 1500–1650. Bulletin du Centre de recherche du château de Versailles [En ligne], 1 | 2007, mis en ligne le 12 juin 2008.