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St Mary's Church, Bridgwater
The Parish Church of St Mary, more commonly known as St Mary's, is the main Church of England parish church for the town of Bridgwater, Somerset. Originally founded well before the Norman Conquest, the present church is a large and impressive structure dating primarily from the 14th and 15th centuries, with both earlier remains and later additions. The church is notable for its Gothic architecture, large stained glass windows, and unusually tall spire, a rarity in Somerset, a county known for its tall and elaborate church towers. With a height of 174 feet (53 m), it is the tallest medieval spire in the county. Architectural historian Nikolaus Pevsner, author of the '''Buildings of England series, describes the spire as "exceedingly elegant". The church is also of considerable interest for housing an exceptionally rare and unusually large painting depicting the Descent from the Cross. The artist of the painting is unknown but is generally attributed (controversially) to either ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bridgwater
Bridgwater is a historic market town and civil parish in Somerset, England. The town had a population of 41,276 at the 2021 census. Bridgwater is at the edge of the Somerset Levels, in level and well-wooded country. The town lies along both sides of the River Parrett; it has been a major inland port and trading centre since the industrial revolution. Most of its industrial bases still stand today. Its larger neighbour, Taunton, is linked to Bridgwater via a canal, the M5 motorway and the Great Western Railway, GWR railway line. Historically, the town had a politically radical tendency. The Battle of Sedgemoor, where the Monmouth Rebellion was finally crushed in 1685, was fought nearby. Notable buildings include the St Mary's Church, Bridgwater, Church of St Mary and Blake Museum, which is a largely restored house in Blake Street and was the birthplace of Robert Blake (admiral), Admiral Blake in 1598. The town has an arts centre and plays host to the annual West Country Carnival, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bartolomé Esteban Murillo
Bartolomé Esteban Murillo ( , ; late December 1617, baptized January 1, 1618April 3, 1682) was a Spanish Baroque painter. Although he is best known for his religious works, Murillo also produced a considerable number of paintings of contemporary women and children. These lively realistic portraits of flower girls, street urchins, and beggars constitute an extensive record of the everyday life of his times. He also painted two self-portraits, one in the Frick Collection portraying him in his 30s, and one in London's National Gallery portraying him about 20 years later. In 2017–18, the two museums held an exhibition of them. Childhood Murillo was probably born in December 1617 to Gaspar Esteban, an accomplished barber surgeon, and María Pérez Murillo. He may have been born in Seville or in Pilas, a smaller Andalusian town. It is clear that he was baptized in Santa Maria Magdalena, a parish in Seville in 1618. After his parents died in 1627 and 1628, he became a ward of his ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
William Briwere
William Briwere (died 1244) was a medieval Bishop of Exeter. Early life Briwere was the nephew of William Brewer, a baron and political leader during King Henry III of England's minority.Vincent ''Peter des Roches'' p. 213 Nothing else is known of the younger Briwere's family or where he was educated. He owed the office of precentor at Exeter Cathedral to his uncle's influence, receiving that office about 1208.Barlow "Brewer, William" ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'' Briwere was nominated around 25 November 1223 and consecrated on 21 April 1224. His elevation had been supported by Hubert de Burgh as a means of drawing Briwere's uncle over to the side of de Burgh.Vincent ''Peter des Roches'' pp. 230–232 Crusading bishop Briwere participated in the Sixth Crusade as a proxy for his uncle, who died before he was able to fulfill his crusading vows. The elder Briwere had taken the cross in 1189, but was excused temporarily because of his administrative duties. The ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Early English Gothic
English Gothic is an architectural style that flourished from the late 12th until the mid-17th century. The style was most prominently used in the construction of cathedrals and churches. Gothic architecture's defining features are pointed arches, rib vaults, buttresses, and extensive use of stained glass. Combined, these features allowed the creation of buildings of unprecedented height and grandeur, filled with light from large stained glass windows. Important examples include Westminster Abbey, Canterbury Cathedral and Salisbury Cathedral. The Gothic style endured in England much longer than in Continental Europe. The Gothic style was introduced from France, where the various elements had first been used together within a single building at the choir of the Abbey of Saint-Denis north of Paris, completed in 1144. The earliest large-scale applications of Gothic architecture in England were Canterbury Cathedral and Westminster Abbey. Many features of Gothic architecture had e ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Shilling
The shilling is a historical coin, and the name of a unit of modern currency, currencies formerly used in the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, other British Commonwealth countries and Ireland, where they were generally equivalent to 12 pence or one-twentieth of a Pound (currency), pound before being phased out during the 1960s and 1970s. Currently the shilling is used as a currency in five east African countries: Kenyan shilling, Kenya, Tanzanian shilling, Tanzania, Ugandan shilling, Uganda, Somali shilling, Somalia, and the ''de facto'' country of Somaliland shilling, Somaliland. The East African Community additionally plans to introduce an East African shilling. History The word ''shilling'' comes from Anglo-Saxon language, Anglo-Saxon phrase "Scilling", a monetary term meaning literally "twentieth of a pound", from the Proto-Germanic root :wikt:Reconstruction:Proto-Germanic/skiljaną, skiljaną meaning literally "to separate, split, divide", from :wikt:Reconstr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
France
France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlantic, North Atlantic, the French West Indies, and List of islands of France, many islands in Oceania and the Indian Ocean, giving it Exclusive economic zone of France, one of the largest discontiguous exclusive economic zones in the world. Metropolitan France shares borders with Belgium and Luxembourg to the north; Germany to the northeast; Switzerland to the east; Italy and Monaco to the southeast; Andorra and Spain to the south; and a maritime border with the United Kingdom to the northwest. Its metropolitan area extends from the Rhine to the Atlantic Ocean and from the Mediterranean Sea to the English Channel and the North Sea. Its Regions of France, eighteen integral regions—five of which are overseas—span a combined area of and hav ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tours
Tours ( ; ) is the largest city in the region of Centre-Val de Loire, France. It is the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Departments of France, department of Indre-et-Loire. The Communes of France, commune of Tours had 136,463 inhabitants as of 2018 while the population of the whole functional area (France), metropolitan area was 516,973. Tours sits on the lower reaches of the Loire, between Orléans and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic coast. Formerly named Caesarodunum by its founder, Roman Augustus, Emperor Augustus, it possesses one of the largest amphitheaters of the Roman Empire, the Tours Amphitheatre. Known for the Battle of Tours in 732 AD, it is a National Sanctuary with connections to the Merovingian dynasty, Merovingians and the Carolingian dynasty, Carolingians, with the Capetian dynasty, Capetians making the kingdom's currency the Livre tournois. Martin of Tours, Saint Martin and Gregory of Tours were from Tours. Tours was once part of Touraine, a former provi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Marmoutier Abbey, Tours
Marmoutier Abbey — also known as the Abbey of Marmoutier or Marmoutiers — was an early monastery outside Tours, Indre-et-Loire, France. In its later days it followed the Benedictine order as an influential monastery with many dependencies. History The abbey was founded by Saint Martin of Tours (316-397), in 372, after he had been made Bishop of Tours in 371. Martin's biographer, Sulpicius Severus (''c.'' 363–''c.'' 425), affirms that Martin withdrew from the press of attention in the city to live in Marmoutier (Majus Monasterium), the monastery he founded several miles from Tours on the opposite shore of the river Loire. Sulpicius described the severe restrictions of the life of Martin among the cave-dwelling cenobites who gathered around him, a rare view of a monastic community that preceded the Benedictine rule: According to the French chronicler St. Denis, the Muslims in 732 had made the decision to attack and destroy the monastery. In 853 the abbey was pillaged and ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pope Adrian IV
Pope Adrian (or Hadrian) IV (; born Nicholas Breakspear (or Brekespear); 1 September 1159) was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 4 December 1154 until his death in 1159. Born in England, Adrian IV was the first Pope to have been born and raised in an English-speaking country. Adrian was born in Hertfordshire, England, but little is known of his early life. Although he does not appear to have received a great degree of schooling, while still a youth he travelled to the south of France where he was schooled in Arles, studying law. He then travelled to Avignon, where he joined the Abbey of Saint-Ruf, Avignon, Abbey of Saint-Ruf. There he became a canon regular and was eventually appointed abbot. He travelled to Rome several times, where he appears to have caught the attention of Pope Eugene III, and was sent on a mission to Catalonia where the Reconquista was attempting to reclaim land from the Muslim Al-Andalus. Around this time his abbey complained to ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pope
The pope is the bishop of Rome and the Head of the Church#Catholic Church, visible head of the worldwide Catholic Church. He is also known as the supreme pontiff, Roman pontiff, or sovereign pontiff. From the 8th century until 1870, the pope was the sovereign or head of state of the Papal States, and since 1929 of the much smaller Vatican City state. From a Catholic viewpoint, the primacy of the bishop of Rome is largely derived from his role as the apostolic successor to Saint Peter, to whom Petrine primacy, primacy was conferred by Jesus, who gave Peter the Keys of Heaven and the powers of "binding and loosing", naming him as the "rock" upon which the Church would be built. The current pope is Leo XIV, who was elected on 8 May 2025 on the second day of the 2025 papal conclave. Although his office is called the papacy, the ecclesiastical jurisdiction, jurisdiction of the episcopal see is called the Holy See. The word "see" comes from the Latin for 'seat' or 'chair' (, refe ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Walter Of Douai
Walter of Douai ( Old Norman: ''Wautier de Douai'') (born c.1046, died: c.1107) was a Norman knight, probably at the Battle of Hastings, and a major landowner in South West England after the Norman Conquest, being feudal baron of Bampton in Devon and of Castle Cary in Somerset. He is given various names and titles in different sources including: Walter (or Walschin or Walscin) de Douai. Douai is sometimes written as Dowai. He has also been called Gautier de Douai and later Walter the Fleming. Family Walter was the son of Urso of Douai, that was then a fiefdom of the counts of Flanders and now is a commune in the Nord département in northern France. Located on the river Scarpe some 40 km from Lille and 25 km from Arras. He married Emma (or Eddeva) of Devon, and may have had two children: Richilde de Douai and Ralph (of Tintinhull) Lovel. He also had a second wife. His son Robert built Bampton Castle in Devon.Dunning, 1995 page 32-33 Norman Conquest Walter like ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bath Abbey
The Abbey Church of Saint Peter and Saint Paul, commonly known as Bath Abbey, is a parish church of the Church of England and former Benedictines, Benedictine monastery in Bath, Somerset, Bath, Somerset, England. Founded in the 7th century, it was reorganised in the 10th century and rebuilt in the 12th and 16th centuries; major Victorian restoration, restoration work was carried out by Sir George Gilbert Scott in the 1860s. It is one of the largest examples of English Gothic architecture#Perpendicular Gothic, Perpendicular Gothic architecture in the West Country. The medieval abbey church served as a sometime cathedral of a bishop. After long contention between churchmen in Bath and Wells the seat of the Diocese of Bath and Wells was later consolidated at Wells Cathedral. The Benedictine community was dissolved in 1539 during the Dissolution of the Monasteries. The church architecture is cruciform in floor plan, plan and can seat up to 1,200 patrons. An active place of worshi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
