Statue of St Christopher, Norton Priory facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Statue of St Christopher |
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Statue of St Christopher, Norton Priory
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| Year | 14th century |
| Medium | Red sandstone |
| Subject | St Christopher |
| Dimensions | 3.37 m × 0.4 m (11.1 ft × 1.3 ft) |
| Weight | 1.25 tonnes |
| Location | Norton Priory, Runcorn |
The Statue of St Christopher is a very old and large stone carving. You can see it today at the museum in Norton Priory, Runcorn, England. This statue was made around the late 1300s. It shows St Christopher, a famous saint. It's special because not many religious statues from that time in medieval England survived.
After monasteries were closed down (this was called the Dissolution of the Monasteries), the Brooke family owned the statue. It first stood in their house's outer yard, then in their garden. When the Brooke family moved away, the statue stayed behind. In 1964, it was given to National Museums Liverpool because it was damaged. The statue has now been fixed up and is kept in the museum at the priory site.
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What the Statue Looks Like
This statue is carved from red sandstone. It is twice the size of a person, standing 3.37 metres (11.1 ft) tall. It weighs 1.25 tonnes, which is like a small car! It is the biggest medieval statue of St Christopher still existing in Britain.
The statue shows St Christopher carrying Christ as a child on his left shoulder. St Christopher is walking through water filled with fish. He is wearing clothes from the medieval period. The statue is not fully round like some sculptures. It is more like a carving in relief, meaning it's flatter on the back. Its deepest part is 0.4 metres (1.3 ft).
The statue was made in three parts, but one part is now missing. The main part is the saint's body from the knees up, including the Christ child. The smaller part is the base, showing the saint's lower legs and the river. The missing piece would have fit into a hollow on the saint's right side. The right arm of St Christopher and the Christ child's right arm are also missing. The Christ child's arm probably would have been raised in a blessing. St Christopher's arm would have held a staff.
The Christ child's head is not the original one. It was replaced in the 1600s. There is a crack running from the saint's forehead down to below Christ's knee. Even with these changes, the carving details are still very clear. The fish are so real-looking that experts can tell what species they are! These include garfish, pike, mullet, carp or bream, and plaice or flounder.
Small bits of paint show that the statue was once very colorful. St Christopher's cloak was vermilion (a bright red), his skin looked natural, and his beard was grey. There are also traces of wax, with some blue-green paint on top.
History of the Statue
Experts believe the statue was made between 1375 and 1400. In 1391, Norton Priory became a more important place, changing from a priory to an abbey. J. Patrick Greene, who led excavations there, thinks the statue might have been ordered because of this change. The priory was dedicated to St Mary. When it became an abbey, St Christopher was also made a special patron saint.
The red sandstone for the statue likely came from a quarry about 1 mile (2 km) away at Windmill Hill. It was probably carved at the priory itself, but no one knows who the sculptor was. We are not sure where the statue stood originally. Greene thought it was in the priory's outer courtyard, as shown in a 1727 picture. However, another expert, Marrow, believes it was at the west end of the abbey church. He points out that St Christopher statues were often placed at the west end of churches, like at Notre Dame in Paris. He also thinks the carving looks so good because it was likely kept indoors for some time.
The Reformation was a time when many religious sculptures were attacked or destroyed. But some survived because they were hidden or people refused to destroy them. Very few medieval sculptures remained after this period. So, it's "extraordinary" that this statue survived. Norton Priory was one of the first monasteries to be closed during the Dissolution of the Monasteries. The statue was too big and fragile to be moved easily. It was probably built into the abbey's structure. It stayed there until the abbey was sold to Sir Richard Brooke in 1545.
At some point, the statue was moved. A picture from 1727 shows it outside in a courtyard. The Christ child's head was likely broken off during the Reformation. Its replacement head was added between 1660 and 1685. We know the statue was on display in 1636 because a poem from that year, Iter Lancastrense, mentions it.
The medieval paint was removed from the statue at some point. John Larson, who worked to preserve the statue, thinks this happened before 1660. A coat of wax was then put on it, probably beeswax. This made it look plain and dull brown. This might have made it less offensive to people who were against religious images during the Reformation. The replacement head of the Christ child did not have this wax.
After the Restoration, the statue was again on display at the priory. A picture by the Buck Brothers from 1727 shows it in front of the house. An older sketch from 1664 to 1678 shows it was already in this spot. Even though it was outside, it was against a wall and partly covered by the upper floor of the house. This helped protect it from bad weather.
Between 1727 and 1757, the old house was torn down. A new house in the neoclassical style was built. The statue was moved into the garden. It's likely that the blue-green paint was added around this time. This made it look like a bronze garden sculpture. A guide to Runcorn from 1834 mentions, "In the garden [of Norton Priory] is an antique gigantic figure of St. Christopher."
The Brooke family left Norton Priory in 1921. The statue stayed behind. The house was pulled down in 1928, but a piece of wall where the statue was bolted remained. By the 1960s, the statue had sunk into the ground and was damaged. In 1964, it was given to Liverpool Museum (now part of National Museums Liverpool). It was moved from the priory site because people worried about its safety.
In the 1990s, the statue went to the National Conservation Centre in Liverpool. There, it was cleaned and repaired. The blue-green paint was removed. After three years of work, it returned to Norton Priory in September 1999. The statue is on loan to Norton Priory Museum Trust until 2049.
The Story of St Christopher
The name Christopher means "Christ-bearer." St Christopher was one of the most popular saints in the late medieval period. The cult (a group of followers) based on him came from old stories from the 400s and later. Some believe a real person named Christopher was killed for his faith between 249 and 251. However, during the Reformation, people questioned if his story was true.
The saint's popularity in the late medieval period came mostly from a story published in 1275. It was in a book called the Golden Legend by Jacobus de Voragine. In this story, a giant named Christopher helped travelers cross a dangerous river. When he put his staff in the riverbank, it grew leaves. People also believed that seeing a picture of St Christopher would protect them from sudden death that day. This idea was very powerful after the Black Death plague in 1348–49.
The statue at Norton Priory was not just a work of art. It was made as a "practical working image with a religious purpose." Images of St Christopher are shown in three main ways. In the first, he holds a staff in one hand and the Christ child in the other. The second way, which the Norton Priory statue shows, has the saint with a staff in one hand and the Christ child on his shoulder. The third way shows the saint walking, holding the staff with both hands, with the Christ child either kneeling behind his neck or sitting with one leg on each side of his neck.
St Christopher's connection to Norton Priory is probably because the priory was close to the River Mersey. The priory was about 3 miles (5 km) from the Runcorn ferry, which crossed the river near Runcorn Gap. The priory had a duty to welcome travelers, and St Christopher is the patron saint of travelers. Also, the priory received a share of the money made from the ferry. In 1331, priory lands were damaged by floods. Greene suggested that the saint might have also been seen as a protector against future floods.
Why the Statue is Important
Experts praise the quality of the carving, how well the statue has lasted, and how rare it is for such an old object to survive. They say it is "one of the very few representatives in Britain of the genre of colossal religious figural sculpture, and it is in outstanding condition." This means it's one of the few very large religious statues left in Britain, and it's in amazing shape.
Art historian Phillip Lindley describes the statue as "the work of a sculptor whose mastery of this rather unpromising material is such that his figure need not fear comparison with almost any sculpture of its period in England." He calls it "a work of national and even international significance." He also says it is "an extremely rare survival of gigantic sculpture from late medieval England." This means it's one of the most important pieces of late medieval sculpture from northern England.
Where to See the Statue Now
Between September 2001 and March 2002, the statue was shown at Tate Britain in an exhibition called Image and Idol: Medieval Sculpture. Since then, the statue has been on display at the Norton Priory Museum.
