In its time, the Cluniac Priory at Much Wenlock, Shropshire, did much overshadowing. For one thing it was physically one of the largest ecclesiastical houses in medieval Europe. For another, its Prior ruled over both its resident French monks and the lay populace of peasant farmers and artisans who lived and worked beyond its walls. Then in 1540 came the Dissolution of the monasteries. By order of Thomas Cromwell, Henry VIII’s fixer, roofs were stripped of their protecting (highly valuable) lead, and the place, no longer watertight, literally, if slowly, began to dissolve.
Before the end though, the Priory was often a spot for some very shady dealings, forging currency not the least of them.
There’s more about the history in earlier posts Centred at Wenlock Priory and 5 Stories 5 Photos: Hidden Wenlock #2 All of which had me thinking about shadows and recalling the early autumn afternoon when I went to the Priory specifically to capture the ruins in some high-contrast light conditions. I’d taken many photos there in the past, but in the middle of the day. The end products were, without exception, pretty underwhelming.
And so for John’s Lens-Artists’ challenge I thought I’d show a series of different shadowed shots from that late-day autumn visit. I was using a point and shoot Panasonic Lumix including the dynamic monochrome setting for the sepia and black and white shots.
copyright 2026 Tish Farrell
Lens-Artists: Shadowed This week John sets the theme and explores different approaches in his post.
*
Good old Dynamic Mono done you proud! Though I like the colour shots too. So the monks were imported from France? Well, well. Still, they were a silent order I think, so it hardly mattered.
I like the way you’ve linked the idea of overshadowing to the literal appearance of the shadows in your images. The sepia ones work especially well for such an old, ruined structure.
Echoing Sarah’s comment. And, I really enjoy a bit of a history lesson in reading people’s responses. Nice work, Tish!