Medieval Stonemasons and their Sculptures with Dr James Wright

St Mary Magdalene is the Parish Church at the heart of Newark-on-Trent, and has been for more than 800 years. he centuries have taken their toll on the church, and now the building is on the Heritage at Risk Register. This year, with thanks to the National Lottery Heritage Fund, Historic England and the Church of England, vital work will be taking place to repair the fabric of St Mary’s to ensure that it continues to stand at the heart of Newark for another 800 years.

St Mary Magdalene, Newark

Join Dr James Wright for a fascinating look at medieval stonemasons and their sculptures

Hope Community Methodist Church

An assessment and analysis of how stonemasons worked with their patrons to create meaningful imagery upon buildings which can give us a unique insight into the mediaeval mind. By looking at both sacred and secular architecture we can begin to understand the fascinating, disturbing and sometimes comedic messages imparted to the viewer. Ideas connected to religious texts, morality, lordship, politics and personal identity are covered as we explore how one simple image may have many complex meanings… Dr James WrightHailing from Staffordshire, James has been involved with the world of archaeology for over twenty years. Following graduation from the <a href="https://www.nottingham.ac.uk/archaeology" title="https://www.nottingham.ac.uk/archaeology" target="_blank" data-msys-clicktrack="0" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer">Department of Archaeology</a> at the <a href="https://www.nottingham.ac.uk/" title="https://www.nottingham.ac.uk/" target="_blank" data-msys-clicktrack="0" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer">University of Nottingham</a>, he began his career working for <a href="http://www.tparchaeology.co.uk/" title="http://www.tparchaeology.co.uk/" target="_blank" data-msys-clicktrack="0" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer">Trent &amp; Peak Archaeology</a> prior to retraining as a conservation stonemason under the master mason <a href="http://www.markstaffordstonemasonry.com/" title="http://www.markstaffordstonemasonry.com/" target="_blank" data-msys-clicktrack="0" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer">Mark Stafford</a> with formal qualifications obtained from <a href="http://www.weymouth.ac.uk/" title="http://www.weymouth.ac.uk/" target="_blank" data-msys-clicktrack="0" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer">Weymouth College</a>.His principle interest is <a href="https://triskeleheritage.triskelepublishing.com/buildings-archaeology/" title="https://triskeleheritage.triskelepublishing.com/buildings-archaeology/" target="_blank" data-msys-clicktrack="0" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer">buildings archaeology</a> and he has experience of working on properties from the eleventh to twentieth century including castles, great houses, ecclesiastical sites, civic structures, industrial and vernacular architecture. He has led major projects at sites including the <a href="http://www.hrp.org.uk/tower-of-london/" title="http://www.hrp.org.uk/tower-of-london/" target="_blank" data-msys-clicktrack="0" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer">Tower of London</a>, <a href="http://www.parliament.uk/about/living-heritage/building/palace/" title="http://www.parliament.uk/about/living-heritage/building/palace/" target="_blank" data-msys-clicktrack="0" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer">Palace of Westminster, </a><a href="http://cathedral.southwark.anglican.org/" title="http://cathedral.southwark.anglican.org/" target="_blank" data-msys-clicktrack="0" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer">Southwark Cathedral,</a> <a href="https://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/knole" title="https://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/knole" target="_blank" data-msys-clicktrack="0" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer">Knole</a> (Kent), <a href="https://www.facebook.com/ArchaeologyHistoryKingsClipstone/" title="https://www.facebook.com/ArchaeologyHistoryKingsClipstone/" target="_blank" data-msys-clicktrack="0" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer">King John’s Palace</a> (Nottinghamshire), <a href="http://www.stmaryswarwick.org.uk/" title="http://www.stmaryswarwick.org.uk/" target="_blank" data-msys-clicktrack="0" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer">St Mary’s Warwick</a> and <a href="https://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/tattershall-castle" title="https://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/tattershall-castle" target="_blank" data-msys-clicktrack="0" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer">Tattershall Castle</a>. Recent projects have found James working from Lancashire to Kent and from Wiltshire to Norfolk. St Mary Magdalene Church, NewarkSt Mary Magdalene is a Grade One listed church dating back to the 12th century. It is a nationally significant building which is currently on Historic England’s Heritage at Risk Register. A grant of £2,565,628, along with an emergency grant of £249,498 from National Lottery players through The National Lottery Heritage Fund, support from Historic England, the Church of England, and the UK Shared Prosperity Fund will enable vital repairs to be made to the Church, removing it from the Heritage at Risk Register, breathing new life into the visitor experience, and saving the building for future generations.

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