A WORCESTER couple have completed a stunning mappa mundi which will be displayed at Dover Castle, Kent, as part of a £2 million restoration project.
The English Heritage project is inspired by the Sawley Map, the only surviving English 12th century mappa mundi, which is kept in the library of Corpus Christi College, Cambridge, and the largest known mappa mundi which is on display at Hereford Cathedral.
Phil and Tamara Pleasant, of St Dunstans Crescent, Battenhall, created the 3ft 6 in by 4ft 6in (1.1m by 1.4m ) map using authentic materials including ink made of oak galls and paint ground from natural pigments such as lapis lazuli, malachite and indigo.
Steven Brindle, historian at English Heritage, said: “Phil and Tamara’s dedication to an ancient craft means that not only do we have a highly authentic piece of re-creation but a beautiful piece of art in itself.”
Mappa mundis are interpretations of how mediaeval scholars saw the world in spiritual and geographic terms. More than 1,000 have survived.
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