Anglo-Saxon Crypt

Quite recently there have been a number of interesting Art History programmes on BBC Four, presented by Dr Janina Ramirez, looking at the Vikings and the Anglo-Saxons.

Our view of the Vikings as brutal plunderers was challenged in the light of the recent exhibition in Edinburgh which showed that they were also quite sophisticated and cultured traders.

The Anglo-Saxon period was viewed as "The Dark Ages" but relatively recent discoveries, including The Staffordshire Hoard in 2009 has given an insight into their art and culture.

Purely by accident (well, browsing in fact) I learned that there is a very important Anglo-Saxon crypt not far from me. So, I decided it was time to have a bit of an adventure and explore.

St Wystan's Parish Church, in Repton, is where this amazing crypt is to be found. It was constructed in the first half of the 8th century, perhaps originally as a baptistery and was later converted to a mausoleum. It became the final resting place of Mercian kings, including King Aethelbald (ob 757) and King Wyglaf (ob 840).

In later centuries the crypt disappeared from view, as the stairs were floored over and the windows obscured by stables and sheds.

In 1779, a workman, digging a hole for a grave in the chancel floor, broke through the vaulting of the south-west compartment of the crypt, and tumbled headlong into it.

From 1974 to 1988 major excavations were carried out and in 1998, restoration was carried out with generous help from English Heritage and the Getty Foundation.

It is one of the oldest and most important examples of Anglo-Saxon architecture to survive intact.

It is amazing and I can understand why Sir John Betjeman described it as "holy air encased in stone."