Building the Pilgrim’s Chapel
The West end of the chapel. Nothing quite lines up, though the overall effect is good, with nice proportions. The buttresses do not match each other, so may have come from two different buildings.
The three light reticulated window is well carved and still in good condition.
The Pilgrim's Chapel
Part Two
This is part 2 of 3 of a short series on the Grade 1 listed St Mary’s chapel, at Bradwell Abbey, Milton Keynes. In part 1 Our Lady of Bradwell we looked at the detailed timeline and saw how the chapel survived when the other priory buildings didn’t.
Next week we shall take a good look at the paintings that gave the chapel its Grade 1 listing, but today we shall see how the 14th Century chapel was designed, constructed and changed.
Once again, many thanks to Peter Martin of the Milton Keynes City Discovery Centre for getting me access.
The chapel was built to enclose a statue of the Virgin Mary, that had been set in a niche on the end of the priory church. Pilgrims would then pay to enter and pray to St. Mary.
The strong cult of St. Mary in England meant the chapel would be a popular pilgrim destination. It would bring much needed revenue to the priory, which had been in decline for over twenty years.
I think that means that the chapel was built on a budget, out of whatever materials were to hand. That meant reusing materials from other parts of the priory, probably from ruined buildings, and that the monks themselves built the chapel.
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