Monday 2 May 2016

More yew, more ancient stone




Photos from a bank holiday weekend visit to Tewkesbury Abbey. There's been a place of worship in this area since the mid-seventh century, with the current building begun in 1102. In the Middle Ages it was one of the richest abbeys in the country. During the Wars of the Roses in 1471, Richard IV forced his way into the Abbey to attack defeated Lancastrians who were sheltering there.

At the time of the dissolution of the monastries in 1539 the last abbot handed the abbey over to Henry VIII's commissioners. The local people insisted that it was their parish church and that as such they had a right to keep it. It was saved from destruction and they were allowed to buy it from the Crown. It is now the second largest parish church in the country and really quite magnificent.

I like to try and picture people from bygone times in the abbey. Monks walking quietly over the stone floors. Battle and bloodshed. Local people coming here over hundreds of years to seek solace.

Outside there are yew trees, clipped into satisfying dumpy ovals. They were in beautiful condition and so neatly shaped. A pair of peregrines nest on the abbey tower, although to date they haven't raised any chicks successfully. Maybe this year.

We dodged the rain and had a wander round the town as well. Found a wonderful antiquarian and secondhand bookshop in an ancient building with high ceilings, chandeliers, old rugs on the ground and a chain of different rooms to explore. There were books everywhere, with floor to ceiling shelves and piles on tables and the floor and steps. There were hundreds of old maps so I picked up a couple more for turning into stationery.

When the sun came out we headed somewhere greener where little legs could run off the energy that accumulates after an afternoon of trying to be quiet.

Here in cyberspace I still haven't solved my technical problem. So I still get an email every time I comment on a blog telling me my email can't be sent. Very frustrating. I shall give it some more thought later.

Wishing all a good bank holiday. I shall be drawing and writing with the littlest boy and doing kitchen things and watching the laundry pile grow bigger and bigger in the absence of a functioning washing machine. Sun is promised later so I shall drag them all out for a canter round when inside gets to be too much.

25 comments:

  1. no washing machine. eek.
    hope you get some sun. none here.... but we spent all day outside yesterday in horrid weather so today I think may be voted a pj day x

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  2. Love your photos. How did they manage to build such spectacular buildings back hundreds of years without the help of modern science etc? Truly mind boggling! Enjoy the rest of your weekend :)

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  3. I have no religion (which is a gentler, quieter way to say I'm an atheist, which I think can be incendiary) but I do fully appreciate the magnificence of places like this. There is something special, moving and inspiring about them. The history is fascinating – Henry VIII raising monasteries to the ground, what a despicable thing to do, all that beauty. Isn't that what's going on elsewhere in the world today? Crikey, straying into very dodgy ground here... Anyway, lovely photos, CJ. Sorry to hear about your washing machine situation. I was without one for 10 days a couple of months ago and it was testing. I'm appreciating my new one now! Hope the sun comes out for you today – it's drizzling here and we can't see the sea. Sam x

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  4. Your visit sounds wonderful, so much beauty int he structure of the church and the gardens. I love all the history, just think of what that church has seen all these years.
    Hugs,
    Meredith

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  5. The place looks gorgeous! Where is this place located?

    Something about Charter Fishing in Hawaii

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  6. What a stunning place to visit, I can imagine the thousands of people from bygone eras walking those beautiful floors, amazing. The bookshop sounds pretty good too my kind of afternoon.

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  7. Beautiful abbey. E is learning all about the Dissolution of the monasteries at the moment; it would be right up her street. We stayed in a little cottage in Tewkesbury years ago (pre children). I remember there was no TV but(once we'd got over the shock!)we bought a game and a stack of second hand books from a charity shop for the evenings and had a fantastic time. That book shop sounds just perfect. Hope your washing machine is mended soon. xx

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  8. Beautiful abbey. E is learning all about the Dissolution of the monasteries at the moment; it would be right up her street. We stayed in a little cottage in Tewkesbury years ago (pre children). I remember there was no TV but(once we'd got over the shock!)we bought a game and a stack of second hand books from a charity shop for the evenings and had a fantastic time. That book shop sounds just perfect. Hope your washing machine is mended soon. xx

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  9. I hope your bank holiday is a mostly good one for you in spite of the broken washing machine. The last time ours went out in our household of 13 folks there was a good deal of anxiety as the dirty clothes pile mounted. Thanks for the photos of the magnificent Abbey; I am glad it is still treasured and cared for in spite of threats to destroy it. xx

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  10. That's one place I would like to see and never have. I have to tell you this- I'm sitting here typing and movement just caught my eye- a tiny Goldcrest has just stuck himself onto the wall of the house! Don't usually see them outside of trees. Hope you all had a good canter around today :o) XX

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  11. I think I should maybe rename my blog 'The Defeated Lancastrian'...
    It always looks so very lovely where you live. I'd love to head down there again when Joe's a bit bigger or - ahem - when he's having a long weekend with the grandparents.
    There's something so evocative about historical buildings and their grounds. I definitely have one foot rooted somewhere in the dim and distant past. And that bookshop sounds heavenly too.
    Hope you get your technical (and domestic) issues sorted and that your weekend was a good one.
    S x

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  12. A most enjoyable post and lovely pictures. I like the sound of that bookshop. Hope that you've had a good day. Flighty xx

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  13. As usual, I wish I could go where you do. I've been watching a show about British castles lately and I'm just amazed at the history in your country. I would love to visit the bookshop, how wonderful. I hope the washer is back on track soon. I hate when I have an appliance down. It's nice at first, I guess, but then the chores start piling up and it gets a little scary. Hope you have a good week. :)

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  14. Ugh! Sorry to hear you don't have a functioning washing machine. That is an unpleasant situation I've found myself in a couple of times. Hope you get sorted soon.

    Lovely captures of the Abbey. :-)

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  15. Wow.. what an amazing place.. I'm *SO* glad it was saved from those who might have destroyed it. What a blessing. You are so lucky to get to poke around such history. I look forward to seeing the old maps you got in the bookstore. I also love old maps. Sorry about your comment problem. I wish I could help you. Blogger stopped sending me emails to notify me of comments.. so I changed the email to another and now it works. Goofy internet. ((hugs)), Teresa :-)

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  16. Beautiful pics - you've made me want to go, and the bookshop sounds like just my sort of place. I hope the sun came out for you today. x

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  17. What a great post, and your photos are lovely! Thank you so much for sharing.

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  18. When we first moved to the farm, there were no hook-ups or water lines for a washer or dryer. We didn't own a lot of clothes like folks do now, and it wasn't long before everyone was running out. So I filled the bath with soap and water, stomped around with a toilet plunger, drained and refilled to rinse and wrung the lot out by hand. Took me all day but at least hubby and kid's had clean clothes. Next day off he got the parts and ran a water line - I have always been grateful for my washer! Beautiful buildings - absolutely nothing like it this side of the pond.

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  19. So oldish buildings I love this. Maybe i come in the future.

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  20. Love those pictures. Yes, there's so much history and so many stories tied up in our religious buildings, those centres of community life. They never fail to draw me in. Have you read The Sunne in Splendour? It's a novel about the life of Richard 111, with the Wars of the Roses a major feature. Blimey, so many arguments about who should sit on the throne, so many battles, so many heads being chopped off, it's a wonder they didn't run out of soldiers. I had to press the pause button about half way through.

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  21. The place is so awesome. I love to go that someday.

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  22. Lovely place :) i want to go this someday thanks

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