Bibliography & Further Reading
Books on this subject are few and the older ones are hard to find. The best introduction is E Clive Rouse, Medieval Wall Paintings, Shire Publications, 1991. Brief but expert treatment of the subject, with good pictures, a Gazetteer and a very useful Bibliography. Some cathedrals and larger churches may have this book on sale inside.
Also useful are:
- A Caiger-Smith, English Medieval Mural Paintings, OUP, 1963. Thorough and scholarly, with good pictures.
- H Munro Cautley, Suffolk Churches and Their Treasures, Boydell Press, 1982. Exhaustive coverage of Suffolk Churches.
- John Harvey, Gothic England:A Survey of National Culture, Batsford, 1945. Contentious, and (some say) eccentric at times, but stimulating.
- MR James, Suffolk & Norfolk, Alastair Press, Suffolk. Subtitled ‘A Perambulation of the two counties with notices of their history and their ancient buildings’. Still superb, still indispensable.
- Frank Kendon, Mural Paintings in English Churches during the Middle Ages, John Lane/Bodley Head, 1923. A bit dated, but particularly useful for its summarising of material from:
- CE Keyser, A List of Buildings in Great Britain and Ireland Having Mural and Other Painted Decorations, London (HMSO), 1883 (‘Keyser’s List’). Now out of date, but an updated version is in preparation under the supervision of the Courtauld Institute.
- EW Tristram, English Medieval Wall Painting: The 12th Century, London, 1944.
- EW Tristram, English Medieval Wall Painting: The 13th Century, London, 1950.
- EW Tristram, English Medieval Wall Painting: The 14th Century, London, 1954.
- EW Tristram & T Borenius, English Medieval Wall Painting, London, 1929. Professor Tristram’s monumental series of volumes is comprehensive, magisterial, and, the odd eccentric iconographical reading apart, reliable.
Tristram’s books are currently out of print, but you might be able to find second-hand copies. - JC Wall, Medieval Wall Paintings, London, n.d. (before 1925). Invaluable for Wall’s drawings, some of them of paintings now vanished. Currently out of print, but you might be able to find second-hand copies.
- PG Walwin, St Christopher Today and Yesterday, Gloucester, 1968.
- HC Whaite, St Christopher in English Mediæval Wallpainting, London, 1929. A volume devoted to the most frequently found of all subjects
- Richard Marks, Image and Devotion in Late Medieval England, Sutton Publishing, 2004. Not specifically on wall paintings, but by far the best book in recent years on this image-related area of medieval culture. Comprehensive and illuminating, with some superb photographs.
- Daniel V Thompson, The Materials & Technique of Medieval Painting, Dover Publications, New York, 1936. Also not specifically on wall paintings, but still the standard work on materials/technique. Recently reprinted and widely available.
- Roger Rosewell, Medieval Wall Paintings in English and Welsh Churches, Boydell Press, 2016
The links are to these books on Amazon.