The Church of Saints Peter and Paul at Chaldon,

Surrey Surrey () is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Greater London to the northeast, Kent to the east, East Sussex, East and West Sussex to the south, and Hampshire and Berkshire to the wes ...

, is a

Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the State religion#State churches, established List of Christian denominations, Christian church in England and the Crown Dependencies. It is the mother church of the Anglicanism, Anglican Christian tradition, ...

parish church in the

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. The building was begun before 1086 and is

Grade I In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, H ...

listed. It is notable for containing a large mural dating from around 1170, depicting images of the

Last Judgement The Last Judgment is a concept found across the Abrahamic religions and the '' Frashokereti'' of Zoroastrianism. Christianity considers the Second Coming of Jesus Christ to entail the final judgment by God of all people who have ever lived, res ...

and

purgatory In Christianity, Purgatory (, borrowed into English language, English via Anglo-Norman language, Anglo-Norman and Old French) is a passing Intermediate state (Christianity), intermediate state after physical death for purifying or purging a soul ...

Building

The small church is divided into a nave and chancel. The nave has a two-bay arcade on the north and south sides which leads into aisles. The east end of the south aisle leads into a chapel dedicated to St Catherine, while the west end forms the base of the tower and is adjoined by the south porch. A vestry abuts the west end of the north aisle. The east and west walls of the church likely date from the eleventh century, while the remainder of the church is predominantly 12th and 13th century. The major exceptions are St Catherine's chapel, which was partially rebuilt and given a new window in the early 14th century, and the tower built in 1843. There is a blocked arch at the end of the north aisle which suggests there was once also a chapel on this side of the chancel. The church windows have also been altered several times; those in the north aisle date from 1330, the wide chancel window from 1460, and the south aisle window is early 17th century. There is an Easter Sepulchre in the chancel dating from the fourteenth century, and the pulpit dates from 1657.

Wall painting

The mural on the west wall of the nave was only discovered during restoration works in 1870-1. The background is of red

tempera Tempera (), also known as egg tempera, is a permanent, fast-drying painting medium consisting of pigments mixed with a water-soluble binder medium, usually glutinous material such as egg yolk. ''Tempera'' also refers to the paintings done in ...

, while the figures are a lighter red or pink. The mural has been described as "perhaps the most interesting ancient wall-painting in England" and as "one of the most important English wall paintings" of its date. A figure of a demon was discovered on the north aisle at the same time, but was destroyed. The overall scheme combines several iconographic subjects, including the

, the

Harrowing of Hell In Christian theology, the Harrowing of Hell (; Greek language, Greek: – "the descent of Christ into Christian views on Hell, Hell" or Christian views on Hades, Hades) is the period of time between the Crucifixion of Jesus and his Resurre ...

, and the Ladder of Salvation. The painting is divided in two by a cloudy band. The lower half contains demons and depictions of sin, and the upper half the judgement and the salvation of souls. In the centre is a ladder, with

Christ Jesus ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ, Jesus of Nazareth, and many other names and titles, was a 1st-century Jewish preacher and religious leader. He is the Jesus in Christianity, central figure of Christianity, the M ...

in a nimbus at the top. The main figures of the lower half include two demons boiling sinners in a cauldron, two demons holding a saw on which balance sinners, and the Tree of Knowledge with the Serpent. Representations of the

Seven deadly sins The seven deadly sins (also known as the capital vices or cardinal sins) function as a grouping of major vices within the teachings of Christianity. In the standard list, the seven deadly sins according to the Catholic Church are pride, greed ...

surround these scenes. The upper half depicts the Harrowing of Hell to the right and the

Archangel Michael Michael, also called Saint Michael the Archangel, Archangel Michael and Saint Michael the Taxiarch is an archangel and the warrior of God in Christianity, Judaism, and Islam. The earliest surviving mentions of his name are in third- and second ...

weighing souls to the left. Pevsner describes the subject as 'rare' and describes it as a 'Purgatorial Ladder', while Malden links it to a style developed in the

Greek Orthodox Church Greek Orthodox Church (, , ) is a term that can refer to any one of three classes of Christian Churches, each associated in some way with Christianity in Greece, Greek Christianity, Antiochian Greek Christians, Levantine Arabic-speaking Christian ...

, particularly a type called 'The Ladder of the Salvation of the Soul and the Road to Heaven'.

References

{{Reflist

External links

History of Chaldon Church

Church of St Peter and St Paul, Church Lane, Chaldon

Chaldon Church mural

* ttp://www.lancs.ac.uk/users/yorkdoom/maureen.htm Page with a picture of part of the mural.
High resolution picture of the whole mural.

Two black and white pictures of the whole thing.
Chaldon Chaldon Chaldon Judgment in Christianity

Building

Wall painting

See also

References

External links