14th Century Rood Screen, Roxton, UK

A Rood Screen is a richly carved wood or stone screen which acts to separate the nave from the chancel of a church. They are typically found throughout Western Europe and date from the 14th-16th centuries. With the onset of the English Reformation in the mid-16th century, which saw England brake away from the Catholic Church, a wave of iconoclasm swept the country and many religious works of art where destroyed, vandalised or sold off. Not a single intact rood survives in Britain however some vestiges remain. This is the case with the Roxton rood screen whereupon twelve figures can be seen, having their faces and religious objects scratched away by Protestant soldiers or the local populace, who viewed the depiction of these figures as idolatrous. The figures themselves are a mixture of saints and church figures. The screen is located at the 14th-century Church of St Mary Magdalene, Roxton, Bedfordshire, England. Access to the church is available via a key which can be obtained from the village post office.