Medieval life in Leighton Buzzard
An audience at All Saints church were treated recently to a fascinating talk by Matt Champion about medieval graffiti. He is a nationally recognised authority on the subject, so All Saints Preservation Trust were lucky to secure him to give their annual lecture. Matt explored the various types of graffiti found in ancient buildings, what they mean and who might have made them, ranging from Archbishops and Lords to the lowest commoners, with all ranks in between. They give fascinating insights into the lives of our forebears.
Some types of graffiti are common, others (particularly musical notation and mason's drawings) are exceedingly rare - and Matt was excited to inform the audience that All Saints has a rich mixture of graffiti which includes several examples of the rarer categories. His assessment is that the graffiti in All Saints is so extensive that it ranks as one of the 12 most significant sites in the UK; the church has more architectural inscriptions than Canterbury Cathedral!
The graffiti in All Saints has never been comprehensively surveyed and catalogued. Next year marks the 750th anniversary of All Saints' construction; it would be good to mark that occasion by recording the markings that local people have made throughout this time. If you are interested in supporting this, either financially or with your time, please contact All Saints Preservation Trust via [email protected]
