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John Wilkes of Cam near Dursley, Gloucestershire
The Gloucestershire Photo Library
Page composition by Allan Taylor of Vancouver, Canada
http://www.allthecotswolds.com
St. Nicholas Church, Oddington, dating from the 11th Century, is well known for its magnificent medieval wall paintings. These pictures were a means of religious instruction for a largely illiterate society. The main wall painting in the church is 'The Doom'. One of the soldier guard figures from 'The Doom' is displayed on this page, above right. It is a detail of a large, ancient and fragmented artwork, that covers twenty feet of wall space. The other big painting in the church - 'The Magnificence' (after a morality play of the same name) - is shown here, above left. 'The Magnificence' painting is dated 1520 and represents a satire on Cardinal Wolsey - the central figure. The surrounding figures represent other characters in the play - Mischief (a striped Devil), Adversity, Despair, Redress, Circumspection, Measure, Liberty, Counterfeit Countenance (the bat-winged fox), Fancy, Perseverance and others. Another notable feature of the church is the beautiful Jacobean pulpit set high on a single pillar.
