Monument to Ethelburga
Graveyard, St. Mary & St Ethelburga Church, Church Road, Lyminge, Canterbury
Commissioned by 'Pathways to the Past'
Carefully sited so it can be a focus of contemplation and prayer, open and hospitable to those of all faiths and none , 'Monument to Ethelburga' is formed from Kentish Ragstone complimenting the same stone used in the construction of the original church itself.
There are three elements embedded into the stone, three is the Trinity - but also the three aspects of our humanity - mind, body and spirit.
A circular band of gold forms the crown of the piece, engraved with symbols of femininity, Christianity and Ethelburga's Anglo Saxon roots, the pattern is derived from the work of local artisans.
The second element shares with us engraved words of commemoration as their rigid metal base bends to envelope the stone, offering us the opportunity to contemplate all that was her life.
Finally, the waters of the Nailbourne are realised through an engraved pattern, again inspired by the work of local craftswomen, cascading around the girth of the stone following a path into the ground below.
'Monument to Ethelburga', with it's symbols layered with Christian and more universal meanings, offers to all of us a challenge and a welcome to make this holy space our own.
Pathways to the Past
Exploring the legacy of St Ethelburga, Pathways to the Past is a community project focused on the Anglo-Saxon heritage of Lyminge, a village in the Elham Valley in East Kent. Monument to Ethelburga' was commissioned to celebrate the achievement of Queen Ethelburga who built the first church at Lyminge, probably in the 630's.
The local Kentish Ragstone used for the piece was sourced from Hermitage Quarry in Maidstone and generously donated by The Gallagher Group. Stonework was carried out by locally based Prestigious Stonemasonry and the metal bands were engraved by JH May.
Due to the Pandemic, participants were sent kits to work from, pastels and pastel paper for the artists, a notebook and ink pen for the poets and a box of material, beads and thread for the quilters. The packs were designed in keeping with the archeological digs which unearthed Anglo Saxon finds and the remains of the original church on the site.
Artist pastel kit
Poets writing kit
Quilters embroidery kit
The resulting work informed the final piece with many elements being embedded into the designs within the bands. You can see evidence of this within the small gallery of photographs directly below.
Gallery
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