St Peter and St Paul's Church, Chaldon

Vivid scenes of the afterlife should merit a detour by any pilgrim walking the Pilgrims’ Way from Winchester to Canterbury, as the church lies a mile north of the main route

Highlights

• Intact early medieval wall painting

Chaldon houses an outstanding piece of ancient religious art, depicting the saved and the damned receiving their final judgment. Many experts date the famous painting to the 1190s, though some claim it is from around 1070.

Whatever its exact date, the purpose of the mural is clear. Designed for an illiterate congregation, the scenes offer a visual version of Christian theology as understood at the time, inspiring devotion, knowledge, and above all, fearful obedience to the Word of God.

The vivid imagery evokes the fears of our Christian predecessors about the fate awaiting the sinful. The painting is divided into a cross shape, with detailed scenes showing salvation for good souls and a gruesome trial and damnation for those on the bottom row.

In the bottom right, dishonest craftsmen are forced to cross a bridge of spikes without all the tools of their trade. A blacksmith, devoid of his anvil, flails uselessly with hammer and tongs, alongside a mason rendered impotent without his chisel. This is the nearest holy place to where I live; I can think of one or two local tradesmen who might benefit from a quick look.

A ladder forms the central pillar of the cross, making a composition known as the Ladder of Salvation of the Human Soul. The church guide says the design is influenced by Greek Orthodox iconography, although it is hard to find a major piece of early Christian art in England that isn’t described as ‘Byzantine’ in style or influence.

An outline sketch of Christ appears at the top of the ladder, one of the UK’s earliest paintings of the Saviour. The devil makes a few cameo appearances to keep the congregation on their toes. On the top left, he tips the scales of justice as an angel weighs up a soul’s good and bad deeds. On the top right, by contrast, Christ skewers him with a lance.

Simon Jenkins, in England’s Thousand Best Churches, compares the painting to a crude version of an Egyptian tomb mural. Writing in The Guardian nine years later, he comments: “The terrifying Ladder of Salvation in Chaldon, Surrey, is pure Hieronymus Bosch” (21 March 2008).

The fear of damnation captured at Chaldon is palpable enough to make anyone think twice. This ancient church retains its secluded rural setting, despite lying inside the M25 London orbital motorway. The west wall, which bears the mural, is the original Saxon structure, which makes an early date for the painting possible.

The church is dedicated to St. Peter and St. Paul.

Directions

Parish Church of St. Peter and St. Paul, Church Lane, Chaldon CR3 5AL

www.chaldonchurch.co.uk

W3W: funny.photos.bother

GPS: 51.2853N 0.1248W

Chaldon ancient church is half a mile north of Chaldon itself. From the crossroads in the village, go north along Church Lane. The church is on your left about half a mile from the crossroads, partly hidden by trees. It is usually open 10 am–4 pm in winter, closing at 5 pm in summer.