St. Andrew, Moreton-on-Lugg, Herefordshire, designed by the architect W. H. Knight (1799-1881) of Cheltenham. As this Grade II listed church is hemmed in on the village street, it is not the easiest subject and it looks entirely Victorian from outside.

The church's Norman and medieval origins are clear inside, however. It was restored/rebuilt by Knight in 1865-7 for local landowner Thomas Evans, of nearby Moreton Court. The Salviati work in the chancel, depicting the "Heavenly Jerusalem," was added in 1887 after a commission by Thomas's widow Harriet (see the Salviati Architectural Mosaic Database). This was just at the time when rich chancel decoration was in vogue: "With the onset of the Arts and Crafts Movement the balance of taste shifted, less weight was given to architectural refinement and more to applied decoration" (Sladen 98).

The text under the musician angels on the north wall of the chancel reads "There is a river the streams whereof shall make glad the city of God," from Psalm 46. The theme of angels giving praise in front of the "New Jerusalem" was a popular one, found also, for example, in Edward Burne-Jones's mosaics at St Paul's within the Walls, in Rome.

The East window glass was also by Salviati (see Pevsner 256), and shows Mary Magdalene at the tomb, with the angel, and then the "Noli Me Tangere" scene in the garden. Above in the tracery light is a fine pelican, feeding its young. The colours are fresh and bright and Mary Magdalene's hair ripples magnificently in the right-hand scene. The south wall mosaics complement those on the north wall. There are a further two mosaic panels of 1899 in the nave depicting Justice and Silence, but they are far from outstanding.

Photographs, except the view of the east end, by Philip Pankhurst, who also contributed most of the text. References and a few comments added by Jacqueline Banerjee. Photograph of the east end by Fabian Musto. Many thanks to both. You may use these images without prior permission for any scholarly or educational purpose as long as you (1) credit the photographer and (2) link your document to this URL or cite the Victorian Web in a print document.

Related Material

Bibliography

"Church of St Andrew." British Listed Buildings. Web. 1 April 2021.

Pevsner, Nikolaus. Buildings of England: Herefordshire. New Haven: Yale University Press, 1963.

Salviati Architectural Mosaic Database. Web. 1 April 2021.

Sladen, Teresa. "Byzantium in the Chancel: Surface Decoration and the Church Interior." Churches 1870-1914. In The Victorian Society: Studies in Victorian Architecture & Design. 3 (2011): 81-99.


Created 1 April 2021.