130–136 Piccotts End

Medieval timber framed building in Piccotts End in Hertfordshire, England March 2020 Piccotts End 130–136 Piccott's End.jpg 130–136 Piccotts End Hertfordshire map of Hertfordshire Location of Piccotts End in Hertfordshire Hall house converted to cottages Tudor Piccotts End, near Hemel Hempstead, Hertfordshire 130–136 Piccotts End, Hemel Hempstead, HP1 3AU United Kingdom 51.770871 -0.4779387 inline,title Timber frame Oak, red brick and whitewashed plaster 2 listed Grade I 15th-century religious wall paintings piccottsendpaintings.uk 130–136 Piccotts End is a medieval timber framed building in Piccotts End in Hertfordshire, England. Originally a hall house,About 132 Piccotts End https://www.piccottsendpaintings.uk/about-the-cottage/ Piccotts End Paintings 14 November 2017 https://web.archive.org/web/20171114105125/https://www.piccottsendpaintings.uk/about-the-cottage/ 14 November 2017 en live the structure has been divided into a row of cottages. Two of the cottages are of interest for the art they contain.1342208 130–136 Piccotts End 5 March 2017 Important 15th-century murals were discovered, at 132, in 1953 and the entire building was listed Grade I the following year. Later murals have been recorded at 134. Location Piccotts End is a village in the north of the parish of Hemel Hempstead. The original function of the building is not known. It has been suggested that the building was connected with Ashridge Priory, which was the home of religious community from the thirteenth to the sixteenth century.https://www.ourdacorum.org.uk/content/dacorum-heritage-trust/heritage-pages/the-secret-religious-code-of-mystery-medieval-murals The secret religious code of mystery medieval murals Dacorum Heritage Trust 28 February 2026 Murals thumb|The Piccotts End wall paintings thumb|Detail of the wall paintings, showing a Pietà Inside the house at number 132 are a number of fifteenth-century religious wall paintings, which are of particular interest to historians as a rare example of pre-Reformation English Catholic art. The paintings are thought to originate from around 1470–1500. Following the English Reformation, religious art came to be regarded as a form of idolatry and many works were obliterated or destroyed; for this reason, some of the faces in the Piccotts End murals were mutilated and the paintings subsequently covered over by whitewash. They remained hidden for over 400 years until they were uncovered in 1953 by a resident. The origins of the paintings are unknown. Historians surmise that the Piccotts End house may have served as a hospice for pilgrims, as it was located close to a pilgrim trail which went via the nearby Ashridge Priory. At Ashridge, pilgrims could venerate a phial of the Blood of Christ before proceeding to St Albans Abbey to venerate the holy relics of Saint Alban. The art historian E. Clive Rouse has noted that the murals exhibit a technique of woodcut illustration dating from the late 15th and early 16th centuries, suggesting the influence of the artistic style of the Low Countries. The wall paintings consist of five panels, arranged in a type of iconostasis, resembling a large screen covered with icons, set in tiers. In the centre panel is Christ in Majesty, with the "IHS" Sacred Monogram in the halo. In the right panel is depicted the Baptism of Jesus by Saint John the Baptist; in the background an archangel holds Christ's robes. On the extreme right is a badly damaged image of Saint Clement, the third Pope with a symbolic anchor on each shoulder and the Papal cross. The left panel contains a Pietà (the Virgin Mary holding the dead Christ), and on the far left is a representation of Saint Peter wearing the Papal Tiara, with a Papal cross and the Keys of Heaven. In the two lower panels are paintings of figures of St Catherine of Alexandria (with her Catherine wheel) and Saint Margaret of Antioch emerging from the belly of a dragon. Many figures are depicted wearing typical Tudor dress. They are decorated with orange-red, grey and blue and white foliation with yellow fruit and flowers. A blank space in the lower wall suggests the former presence of an altar. Putative connections with Catharism It has been suggested that some of the symbolism contained in the wall paintings indicate connections with the doctrines of Catharism, a sect considered heretical by the Catholic Church. This is linked to speculation regarding the religious views of the Augustinian community at Ashridge Priory, who were known as good men (la Boni Homines).Ashridge College of Bonhommes https://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/c/F146901 In Cathar texts, the terms good men (fr Bons Hommes), good women (fr Bonnes Femmes), or good Christians (fr Bons Chrétiens) are the common terms of self-identification. A 1943 article in Speculum establishes that there had been conflation of two unrelated groups and that the Boni Homines of Ashridge were not Cathars.Richard Emory, “The Boni Homines of Ashridge,” Speculum 18, no. 3 (July 1943): 299–312. For purposes of clarity, the iconography of the murals needs to be considered separately from the issue of the supposed heretical leanings of the Augustinian canons at Ashridge. Some motifs have been claimed to be dualistic (in the sense of Manichaean or Cathar dualism). For example, it has been claimed that the emphasis on Christ’s suffering in the murals implied a belief that matter is evil (the Cathars believed that the material world had been created not by the true God but by a lower, corrupted power). https://books.google.com/books?id=moBpCgAAQBAJ&pg=PT55 The Lost Teachings of the Cathars Their Beliefs and Practices Andrew Phillip Smith 2015 Watkins Media 978-1780288048 55 On the other hand, it appears that visitors to the property are currently told that the murals are probably a statement of Catholic orthodoxy.Heritage Open Days at Piccotts End Paintings https://whatson.tudorplaces.com/events/heritage-open-days-at-piccotts-end-paintings February 28, 2026 Tudor Places Hospital In the 1820s the building was converted for use as a cottage hospital by the anatomist and surgeon Sir Astley Cooper.https://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/property/4811661/Inside-story-Piccotts-End.html Inside story 2000 In the early 1830s the number of patients increased because of injuries to workers constructing the London to Birmingham railway. Accordingly, the hospital moved to larger premises at Cheere House in Hemel Hempstead in 1832.http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/hospitalrecords/details.asp?id=412 Hemel Hempstead General Hospital (West Herts Wing), Hemel Hempstead National Archives 2 April 2018 See also Dean Incent's House Art in the Protestant Reformation and Counter-Reformation Medieval art Access In recent years there has been limited opening of No. 132, which is privately owned. The public has been able to visit under the Heritage Open Days scheme.Heritage Open Day at Piccotts End https://web.archive.org/web/20171115015245/http://www.dacorumheritage.org.uk/dht-news/heritage-open-day-at-piccotts-end/ 15 November 2017 . The Dacorum Heritage Trust.Book Now as Hemel Hempstead's the Bury Is Open for Heritage Tours. Berkhamsted & Tring Gazette. Johnston Publishing Ltd. March 2014. Retrieved 18 Feb. 2017. In 2014 a local conservation charity, Dacorum Heritage, launched an appeal to raise funds to buy the property.Trust in bid to save historic panel https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-beds-bucks-herts-26548451 14 November 2017 BBC News 13 March 2014 https://web.archive.org/web/20171114115445/http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-beds-bucks-herts-26548451 14 November 2017 live References External links The Piccotts End paintings G1 Category:15th-century paintings Category:Cottage hospitals Category:Buildings and structures in Dacorum Category:Defunct hospitals in Hertfordshire Category:Grade I listed houses in Hertfordshire Category:Religious paintings Category:Timber framed buildings in Hertfordshire