The Priest's House, Easton on the Hill

This two-storey stone building dates from around 1495. It is in the village of Easton on the Hill, which is in the top north-east corner of Northamptonshire. 

The rector of Easton at that time was Thomas Stokes, who came from a very wealthy family. In his will he left money to pay for the services of a chantry priest, the idea being that the priest would have the sole duty of saying masses and praying for the soul of the departed so that he would not have to spend too much time in Purgatory before being admitted to Heaven. 

The Priest’s House was the home of the chantry priest, who was appointed when Thomas Stokes died in 1495. After the custom was abandoned in 1545 at the time of the dissolution of the monasteries, the house was used by village priests until a new rectory was built in 1698.

Later uses of the building included a school and a farm building for the housing of livestock. In 1868 alterations were made so that hay could be stored in the upper room and passed through a trapdoor to the animals below.

The Priest’s House is now in the care of the National Trust and is open to visitors free of charge – as long as you can find the man with the key!

The two rooms, upstairs and downstairs, are a local museum devoted to local affairs, particularly the ironstone and slate industries that were once the mainstay of the local economy. The area played an important role during World War Two as the location of airstrips that were used by the Royal Air Force for missions against Nazi Germany. This activity is also featured in the displays to be seen here.

A question that must strike many visitors is how the exhibits on the upper floor got where they are, given that the two rooms are only connected via a narrow spiral staircase. Presumably the 19^th century trapdoor was brought into play for this purpose!

© John Welford

Knockan Crag

The road heading north from Ullapool, in the North-West Highlands of Scotland, passes beneath a mile-long cliff that dominates the landscape. This is Knockan Crag, which tells a violent story that dates from before the time of the dinosaurs.

The rocks that form this part of the British Isles are extremely old, dating back more than 1,000 million years. They comprise a complex mixture of ancient sedimentary layers and igneous and metamorphic rocks that were laid down during periods of intense volcanic activity.

They are also the result of the collision of ancient continents, and that is what can be seen at Knockan Crag, where older rocks overlie younger ones, which logic suggests should be impossible.

Some 400 million years ago an event known to geologists as the Moine Thrust took place. Deep underground, a layer of schist - a medium-grade metamorphic rock – was thrust over the top of younger quartzite and limestone rocks. Over millions of years, further earth movements and erosion by wind and rain exposed the Thrust to the surface, as can be seen today.

Today, Knockan Crag is a National Nature Reserve with well-marked paths and observation points. As well as being able to look at very old rock formations at close hand, visitors can see rare plants and animals, catch a glimpse of golden eagles wheeling overhead, and look across a vast, barren landscape of lakes, moors and mountains that has seen little change for an unimaginably long period of time.

© John Welford

Staffa

Staffa is a small island off the western coast of Mull, which is a much larger member of the Inner Hebrides of Scotland. The island, which has been uninhabited for centuries, is less than half a mile long and a quarter-mile wide.

There are two main reasons why people visit this island, which is completely devoid of roads or buildings. One is the wildlife, which includes colonies of puffins, fulmars and black-legged kittiwakes, as well as dolphins, grey seals and pilot whales offshore. The other is the geology.

Staffa is entirely the result of volcanic activity about 60 million years ago when vast sheets of lava poured across the region. In places, these cooled very slowly to form massive crystals of basalt that can be seen today as six-sided columns. A noted location is the Giant’s Causeway on the coast of Northern Ireland, and Staffa is another. Here, the columns are topped by a mass of non-columnar basalt that clearly cooled at a much faster rate and did not form crystals.

At the southern tip of Staffa is the feature for which the island is world-famous, namely Fingal’s Cave, where the basalt columns can be seen to best effect, punctured by a sea cave.

Over the centuries Fingal’s Cave has had many distinguished visitors, including Queen Victoria and the composer Felix Mendelssohn, for whom the cave was the inspiration for his “Hebrides Overture”.

Not surprisingly, there are legends about how the island came to be. One is that the giant Torquil MacLeod was on his way home from building the Giant’s Causeway when his sack burst open and some of the rocks he was carrying fell out. Another is that it was the work of Finn McCool, and that the Giant’s Causeway and Staffa are the two ends of the bridge he built so that he could cross over to Scotland to fight a rival giant.

Boat trips from neighbouring islands will take modern visitors past the entrance to Fingal’s Cave and land them at the only available jetty on the east side of the island, if weather conditions permit. From the jetty one can walk to a point close to the cave entrance.

The paths that cross the island are fully exposed to the prevailing winds and there is no shelter should the weather turn bad. The cliffs are generally sheer, so sticking to the paths is always to be advised, especially as this avoids disturbing the wildlife.

On a fine day, visitors are rewarded with splendid views towards the nearby islands, the Scottish mainland and out to sea.

© John Welford

Clovelly, North Devon

Clovelly is a very unusual village on the north coast of Devon, south-west England, between Barnstaple and Hartland Point. 

The village is privately owned and has been carefully preserved so that it looks as close as possible today to the way it looked centuries ago. However, that does not mean that the residents are prevented from having TV aerials, or telephone lines coming to their homes. They must, however, keep their cottages whitewashed and in good repair.

The main feature that sets Clovelly apart from other villages is the fact that its main street is very steep and cobbled, which means that no wheeled vehicles can pass up and down. Goods are transported by donkeys or on wooden sledges that are hauled by hand.

The reason for Clovelly’s existence is that its small harbour is one of the very few safe anchorages along this stretch of coast, which is typified by steep wooded slopes and sheer cliff faces that rise up to 400 feet above the sea. A small fishing community formed around the harbour, and the cottages were originally occupied by the fishermen.

Not much fishing is done here today, but the village has become a tourist attraction in its own right. Visitors must leave their cars at the top of the village and walk down to the harbour – although donkey rides are also possible. Once at the bottom, the only way to get back to one’s car is to climb back up to the top!

As one might expect, Clovelly’s High Street and the harbour area are very popular with tourists, and on sunny days in the height of summer the place can become unpleasantly busy and crowded. A good time to visit Clovelly is therefore out of the tourist season.

© John Welford

The Great Hall and Round Table, Winchester

Winchester Great Hall (Hampshire, England) is just about all that is left of Winchester Castle, built by William the Conqueror in 1087. The hall was extended by King Henry III and has been described as the second finest medieval hall in England – the first being Westminster Hall next door to the Houses of Parliament.

It consists of a double cube of five bays, with aisles supported by shafts of Purbeck marble.

The feature that most people come to see is “King Arthur’s Round Table”, which hangs from the wall at one end. King Arthur presides at the top, with places marked for each of his 24 knights.

However, there is absolutely no reason to believe that this has anything to do with King Arthur. The wood has been dated to the 14^th century, and it would appear that the table was constructed in the hall in 1348.

The decoration is somewhat later, with every chance that it dates from the Tudor period of the early 16^th century. Evidence of this can be seen from the Tudor rose at the heart of the table, and the fact that King Arthur bears a striking resemblance to the young King Henry VIII.

Whether anyone ever connected the table to King Arthur prior to its Tudor decoration is open to speculation. However, it would appear that somebody had the bright idea of doing so in response to a renewed interest in Arthurian legend that was characterized by Thomas Malory’s highly dramatic and imaginative “Morte D’Arthur” which was published in 1485 and printed by William Caxton. Why not link young King Henry to his legendary predecessor?

There can be no doubt that many people have believed down the centuries that this really was the Round Table, and it must therefore be assumed that the trick worked at the time, thus giving Henry a boost that was welcome if wholly undeserved!

© John Welford

Sites maintained by English Heritage in Cambridgeshire

Denny Abbey and Farmland Museum

Denny Abbey is just off the A10, about halfway between Cambridge and Ely.

The building was originally a Benedictine monastery, founded in 1159. By the time of the Dissolution of the Monasteries in the 1530s it was a nunnery run by the “Poor Clares”. After the Dissolution the buildings became a farm, and they stayed that way until the 1960s. 

A notable tenant of the farm was Thomas Hobson (1544-1631) who was a carrier who kept a large stable of horses. When these were not needed for his business they were rented out to Cambridge students who always had to take the horse that was offered to them and not their personal preference. This is the origin of the expression “Hobson’s Choice”.

Visitors can trace the history of Denny Abbey from nunnery to farm – some of the nuns’ original floor tiles survived from when their refectory became a barn.

Some of the farm buildings house the Farmland Museum which displays items relating to the history of farming in the region. These include recreations of craftsmen’s workshops, a fenman’s hut from the 19^th century and a village shop from the 1930s.

Duxford Chapel

This is in the village of Whittlesford (near Duxford) in the far south of Cambridgeshire. 

It is a complete and well-preserved 14^th century chantry chapel that was originally part of the Hospital of St John but is the only building that remains from that time.

 

A chantry chapel was dedicated for the purpose of holding masses for the soul of a named person, normally someone of wealth who had stipulated in his or her will that this be done.  The practice was suppressed in 1545 during the reign of King Edward VI, and Duxford Chapel became a barn that was used by the owners of the Red Lion inn next door (which also survives).

Isleham Priory Church

Isleham is a small village to the southeast of Ely, close to the border with Suffolk. It is a remarkable survival from the past, being an almost perfectly preserved example of a Norman Benedictine priory church.

The priory was founded in 1090 but dissolved in 1414 – long before the Dissolution of the Monasteries under King Henry VIII. The church owes its preservation to having been used as a barn for much of its subsequent existence.

Longthorpe Tower

Longthorpe is a suburb of Peterborough, a cathedral city in north Cambridgeshire. 

Longthorpe Tower was built in about 1300 as part of a fortified manor house, which has since disappeared. The tower, which is three storeys high, is not only an unusual structure to find in the heart of a city suburb, surrounded by modern housing estates, but it contains an important and very rare set of domestic wall paintings that date from the 14^th century.

The paintings had been covered by whitewash at some point in the 16^th century and only rediscovered in 1945. They adorn the walls and vault of the Great Chamber at the top of the tower.

The paintings have been described as a “spiritual encyclopedia”, although the subject matter is both religious and secular. Along with scenes of everyday life and representations of locally found birds there are depictions of the “Seven Ages of Man”, the “Labours of the Months” and “Wheel of the Senses”.

© John Welford

St David's Cathedral, Wales

St David’s Cathedral is the largest church in Wales, but its home city is the smallest in Great Britain.

St David

Legend has it that David (Dewi in Welsh) was born (in about the year 500) on a clifftop during a wild storm. His mother, Non, is also recognised as a saint and the bay below the supposed birth site is known as St Non’s Bay.

David founded several monasteries in Wales and further afield, including Brittany. St David’s Cathedral, in Pembrokeshire, stands on the site of one of his monastic foundations.

David insisted that his monks should live as simply as possible, refraining from meat and beer, and having no personal possessions. He had a particular liking for leeks, which is why the leek is one of the symbols of Wales.

He died in his monastery at what is now St David’s. The year of his death is disputed, although it was probably around the year 590, which would have meant that he was about 90 years old. The tradition is that he died on 1^st March, which has been recognized for centuries as St David’s Day.

David was venerated as a saint by Pope Calixtus II in 1120. He ruled that two pilgrimages to the shrine of St David were equivalent to one pilgrimage in Rome, in terms of the spiritual reward that would accrue to the pilgrim. David has long been recognised as the patron saint of Wales.

The Cathedral

The Cathedral dates from 1181, having been funded by donations from pilgrims. The current building contains work carried out in most centuries since that date, but the additions have been made in keeping with the original style.

Despite its size, the building is not particularly prominent due to its location in a hollow, this being the valley of the small River Alun.

Visitors cannot help but notice the slope in the Norman nave, which is 14 feet (4 metres) higher at the high altar than at the west end. Also impressive is the bishop’s throne, which dates from 1500 and is almost 30 feet (10 metres) high.

In front of the high altar is the tomb of Edmund Tudor, the father of Henry who defeated the English King Richard III to become King Henry VII and the founder of the Tudor line of monarchs.

During the 19^th century restoration by Sir George Gilbert Scott, bones were found in a recess behind the high altar that were widely believed to be those of St David (and at least one other person). It is possible that the contents of the original shrine were hidden here at the time of the Reformation in the 16^th century.

The Bishop’s Palace

The ruins of the Bishop’s Palace are on the other side of the River Alun. This suite of buildings, set round a large quadrangle, occupies a site that is similar in size to that of the Cathedral itself and would clearly have been very impressive when complete and a testament to the wealth of the medieval church.

The building was abandoned in the 16^th century due to the fact that Bishop Barlow had five daughters. These all needed large dowries in order to make good marriages and the bishop raised the money by gradually stripping the lead off the roof of his palace and selling it. After the fifth daughter had been suitably provided for, the building was uninhabitable.

All the daughters married bishops! The fact that the five husbands all demanded substantial dowries from Bishop Barlow, as well as the size of the original palace, says something about how the Church in Wales had changed since the time of St David. 

© John Welford