Archivo: Malmesbury.abbey.interior.2.arp

Description: Malmesbury Abbey interior. The purpose of the watching-loft is uncertain. There are four possible functions: - a monk could have helped the congregation follow any religious activities at the far end of the church, which was separated by a screen from the end with the watching-loft. - to allow an observer to watch the many visitors and pilgrims. - as a penance chamber. - as a place where visiting nobility or royalty could watch the service over the top of the screen. The wall levels, top to bottom, are the clear windows of the clerestory, the rounded arches of the triforium (windowless at Malmesbury) and the pointed arches of the nave arcading.
Title: Malmesbury.abbey.interior.2.arp
Credit: Own work
Author: Arpingstone
Usage Terms: Public domain
License: Public domain
Attribution Required?: No