Ron Baxter - Böcker

The British Archaeological Association Conference held at Peterborough in 2015 provided a welcome opportunity for a new analysis of the cathedral’s architecture, sculpture and artistic production, and a reassessment of the relationship between the former abbey, the city and its institutions, and the Soke over which it held sway.This ambitious volume casts new light on the Roman occupation of the Nene valley, and the rich Anglo-Saxon sculptural and manuscript context that preceded the construction of the present cathedral, as well as exploring the vital Romanesque tradition of the Soke and the essential contribution of the Barnack quarries.But inevitably the most exciting new disclosures concern the church: its high-quality building campaigns during the 12th to 16th centuries, its abbots’ tombs and the reconstruction of the lost 14th-century High Altar screen from descriptions and loose fragments. Peterborough has attracted the attention of antiquarian scholars since its sacking by Cromwell’s men during the Civil War, and as its secrets are gradually revealed it continues to stimulate the historical imagination.

The British Archaeological Association Conference held at Peterborough in 2015 provided a welcome opportunity for a new analysis of the cathedral’s architecture, sculpture and artistic production, and a reassessment of the relationship between the former abbey, the city and its institutions, and the Soke over which it held sway.This ambitious volume casts new light on the Roman occupation of the Nene valley, and the rich Anglo-Saxon sculptural and manuscript context that preceded the construction of the present cathedral, as well as exploring the vital Romanesque tradition of the Soke and the essential contribution of the Barnack quarries.But inevitably the most exciting new disclosures concern the church: its high-quality building campaigns during the 12th to 16th centuries, its abbots’ tombs and the reconstruction of the lost 14th-century High Altar screen from descriptions and loose fragments. Peterborough has attracted the attention of antiquarian scholars since its sacking by Cromwell’s men during the Civil War, and as its secrets are gradually revealed it continues to stimulate the historical imagination.

First full-length survey of Reading Abbey, one of the most important ecclesiastical buildings of the Middle Ages.Reading Abbey was built by King Henry I to be a great architectural statement and his own mausoleum, as well as a place of resort and a staging point for royal itineraries for progresses in the west and south-west of England. From the start it was envisaged as a monastic site with a high degree of independence from the church hierarchy; it was granted enormous holdings of land and major religious relics to attract visitors and pilgrims, and no expense was spared in providing a church comparable in size and splendour with anything else in England. However, in architectural terms, the abbey has, until recently, remained enigmatic, mainly because of the efficiency with which it was destroyed at the Reformation. Only recently has it become possible to bring together the scattered evidence - antiquarian drawings and historic records along with a new survey of the standing remains - into a coherent picture. This richly illustrated volume provides the first full account of the abbey, from foundation to dissolution, and offers a new virtual reconstruction of the church and its cloister; it also shows how the abbey formed the backdrop to many key historical events.Ron Baxter is the Research Director of the Corpus of Romanesque Sculpture in Britain and Ireland.