A TALK is due to shed light on a medieval mystery as it delves into the world of a priory's most beautiful 'missing' tiles and other marvels of the age. 

The talk by Karen Slade of The Company of Artisans is due to take place Great Malvern Priory on Saturday, October 19 at 6.30pm, followed by canape refreshments.

Tickets are £13 and are available from The Friends' Shop in the Priory, Malvern Tourist Information Centre and online at ticket source. 

TALK: The talk at Malvern Priory takes place on Saturday, October 19TALK: The talk at Malvern Priory takes place on Saturday, October 19 (Image: Supplied by Friends of Malvern Priory) Anne Eglington, Chairman of The Friends of Malvern Priory, said: "The original of this tile (pictured) was supposedly removed from Malvern Priory during the 19th century renovations and is now in the Ashmolean Museum.

"It depicts Christ rising from his sepulchre. It is one of the finest tiles from this period; the detail of the draughtsmanship is particularly delicate. In this, as in so many of the other tiles, not only are heraldic and aesthetic aspects related to the Priory conveyed, but the iconography is permeated with Christian religious symbolism prevalent at that time."

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She added: "It is hard to believe that this is the only known example of this particular design, considering the beautiful image created by the carving. Maybe there are other copies of this tile waiting to be discovered, or perhaps they were fired too soon and cracked in the kiln.

"The carving was of exceptionally high quality with the carver attempting to produce very fine lines on the tile; so fine perhaps that the clay possibly stuck (highlighted in blue) in the stamp, and therefore the stuck area appears as a solid white area where it became filled with slip.

"Karen Slade may be able to shed more light on this mystery when she comes to Malvern Priory."