Lesnes Abbey, Blackheath and Greenwich in the sunshine

A visit to Plumstead and Abbey wood, to see Lesnes Abbey (now how is that pronounced?). I've never been to Lesnes Abbey before, although I've been to the old suburb Abbey Wood which is named after it. I walked on a sunny Sunday down to Deptford, calling in at the Parish Church of St Paul, which is well worth a visit if you can ever get in, and catching a bus to Plumstead. I then walked to the Abbey via the Green Chain walk which passed through several commons and up Bostall hill. My streetmap of London seemed to consider that the public lavatory and parks depot were actually abbey remains. This rather confused me. However the door of the gents was stainless steel with six or seven bolts and a high security lock. That's a bit of overkill to protect a few toilets. I got a bit lost hereabouts and walked off in the wrong direction past Goldie Leigh a former(?) hospital, now a childrens home(?). I retraced my steps and crossed the road near the Greenwich and Bexley Cottage Hospice. The land for the hospice was part of the Co-operative Woods and was the site of the Co-operative Education Centre, Shornells, which had burnt down and was surplus to requirements. I think that the co-op caravan and camping site was also sold but not to the Hospice. Inside the hospice is the plaque from Shornells.

I continued on the Green chain, assisted by a person I met who told me how to find the Abbey. In fact, he took me almost to the door. The Abbey was perhaps founded as a pennance for involvement in the murder of Thomas Beckett, Archbishop of Cannterbury. It's job was to drain the marshes and maintain the river wall, and these tasks meant that the abbey never attracted great wealth or large numbers of inmates. In fact when Cardinal Wolsely closed it it had fewer than seven. The remails were uncovered in the late 19th century after the Abbot's lodging that had been in use as a farmhouse was demolished. There has been a lot of repair work to the remains of the walls and the church is still quite impressive as marked out on the grass of the park. The tower blocks of Thamesmead Town provide an interesting backdrop to these ancient remains.

After lunch in Woolwich I went on to Blackheath, and visited All Saints Church, a model village church on the heath that just looks so right it has got to be contrived. And so it is. The church was celebrating its 150th anniversary with a flower festival (rather uninspired I thought) but the rood screen in memory of the fallen of the first world war was beautiful to behold. Blackheath is full of trendy boutiques and restaurants which I didn't visit but I did have a look round the far reaches of Greenwich Park.
The fine Ranger's house (pictred) houses a collection of artefacts but I didn't go in and Queen Caroline's bath (also pictured) is the last remnant of Montacute House and was previously covered with paving stones.

I ended the day in a pub in Greenwich with a philosopher a photographer and a teacher in cheery fellowship and conversation that lasted for four hours!

A very balanced day followed by a bath but less luxurious than Queen Caroline's!

St James's Palace

Brandy Nan

No photography allowed in St Paul's Cathedral so you can't see the mosaic of Christ Pantocrator, but here is Queen 'Brandy' Nan. Queen Victoria was inconvenienced bt Queen Anne's Statue when she visited and those responsible asked her if she wanted it moved. The Queen replied that she would hate it if one of her statues was moved, so the statue stayed where it was.

Queen Anne was fond of a drop and died without issue, so ending the Stuart dynasty. The Stuarts were bad kings though so nobody was too upset except the annonymous author of the following lines:

Brandy Nan, Brandy Nan,
You left us in the lurch,
Your face towards the ale house
your back to the church.

Colchester

Colchester, the oldest recorded town in England, is an army town, full of fit young men with decent haircuts and today with the sun out proved no exception. The Romans used Colchester as their capital city but soon found London more convenient. It was also home to Old King Cole of nursery rhyme fame, although as he lived long before Sir Walter Raleigh so I suspect the pipe that he called for was a musical one rather than one for Virginia tobacco.

The walk from the North Station to the town is long, and not very interesting. You do cross the river which runs at the bottom of the hill that the town is built on and there are some half timbered houses there. The first church I came to, St Peter’s, was open and still contained galleries, the ones in the North Aisle did not reach the arcading, whereas those in the South Aisle did, the whole effect was a little peculiar. The church was nothing special, typical of town churches in many parts of the country, although it is the only church in Colchester mentioned in the doomsday book. There was a little drama in the grounds of St Botolph’s Priory where four policemen went to see some people sitting in the grounds. Don’t know what it was about as I kept away. The ruined priory of St Botolph uses recycled roman bricks in its structure and has a fine Norman doorway, although the new church of St Botolph of 1836 has nothing fine about it from the outside even though it is Romanesque in style. After a bit of wandering and Coöperative and charity shopping – there are some fine shops in Colchester including an East of England Coöperative Department Store – it was time to hit the Colchester Heritage Trail. This led from the castle, which is the largest Norman keep in Europe. It then leads into the Dutch quarter where Flemish weavers settled in the 16th Century. There are lots of half timbered houses here and a tiny church dedicated to St Helen, now used by the Orthodox church. I went in and found myself surrounded by icons and confronted with a large chandelier. The Orthodox have a screen between nave and chancel so could not see the holy table/altar but the church was interesting. It occupied part of the site of the Roman Amphitheatre.

The next church, St Martins, had a person giving a reading of Moby Dick. It’s a shame there was nobody there to listen to him really, but I got a smile. St Martins church is redundant but has some badly preserved wall paintings and a Norman tower all fallen down due to damage during the civil war siege of Colchester. The Royalists held out here.

Colchester has Roman walls and the town heritage trail leads past these, including the Balkerne Gate, the oldest surviving Roman gateway in Britain. In front of this gateway is ‘Jumbo’ a massive brick water tower built in 1882. The builders crafted a weather vane in the shape of an elephant and the name stuck. The mercury theatre proves that not all buildings in Colchester are from medieval times.

Tymperleys, now a clock museum, is most firmly from this era. It is a lovely half timbered house.
The rest of the trail was up a rather boring residential street, but by the castle I met a former work colleague, who had driven up to Colchester to escape house painting. It was good to see him, and most unexpected. By then I was exhausted so went for a drink in the George, which looked very old, but may not have been. Colchester - recommended!

The pictures show St Botolph's Priory, the Balkerne Gate, a 16th Century House in the Dutch Quarter and the Mercury Theatre with Jumbo in the background.

Aylesbury and Great Missenden - in the heart of the Chilterns

Aylesbury is where the Civil War became more than a gleam in its mother's eye. John Hampden who lived just outside at Stoke Mandeville was assessed for ship money and refused to pay, therefore starting the process that led to several churches called King Charles the Martyr, although none in Aylesbury. Aylesbury is also the county town of Buckinghamshire and is Rothschild country. There were two clubs presented by Rothschilds, the Victoria club which commemorates the diamond jubilee of Queen Victoria given by Baron Rothschild) and the Aylesbury Literary Club with its foundation Stone laid by Lady Rothschild. I had lunch in Carlos's Restaurant in the Literary club. I can recommend the restaurant for its decoration, the ceiling is painted with mermaids which contrast with the oak panelled club room. The atmosphere is unique and - Hallelujah!- food can be obtained before 1200 on a Sunday. It seems like the provincial disease has not contaminated Aylesbury. The club is the middle picture.
I could not spend much time in the church as there was either a rehearsal or concert ongoing but it looked pleasant enough with a light interior. It has a curious spire resting on a smaller tower. The church stands in the middle of the maedieval town of narrow lanes and small squares. There are almshouses near the church. Thomas Hickman's charity seems to povide most of the housing nearby.
The Buckinghamshire County Museum is also near the church.
Great Missenden was until fairly recently the home of noted children's author Roald Dahl. The church is rather outside the village but has good examples of art from all ages including this, in particular a glass screen in one of the side chapels. They also serve teas in the summer months, although I did not have any. Missenden Abbey is now an adult education establishment and the village is pleasant, although a bit stuck in aspic. The bottom picture shows the abbey farm house.

Chesterfield twisted spire, old house and road

Although I only had an hour in Chesterfield I was quite impressed. The Railway station displayed some of the cheaper paintings from the collection at Chatsworth House (behind glass of course but no other visible security), and the twisted spire was there in all its twisted glory. I did have to cross a winding road (via a bridge) to get to town but the town, which is the last resting place of George Stephenson of Railway fame, was moderately attractive with 1930s buildings in the tudor style (see the picture of the coöp on the other blog.

The Peacock house is maedieval and might have been a guildhall - well maybe, but the church is the glory of Chesterfield

Chesham in the Chilterns

A visit to the outer limits of the underground. Chesham is a bit of an ordinary town.

Eynsford Kent, Cradle of our aviation industry

Eynsford is where powered flight may have taken place and knocked out the Wright Brothers from their eternal fame. Eynsford is also where Arthur Mee lived. Eynsford castle: there's not much left.

Rochester - six poor travellers

A visit to Rochester in Kent. The first picture shows the house of the six poor travellers

York - ancient city

York is an ancient city with continuous government since maedieval times. One of the local companies is the merchant adventurers, who have owned and occupied their hall since the 14th century. They had a monopoly on imported foods, spices and cloth and used it to enforce their ways. The end of the monopoly came with a quakeress Mary Tuke who ran a grocery shop in the 18th century. Ms Tuke refused to stop selling imported foods and refused to pay a fine to the merchant adventurers. She eventually had to pay £10 but broke the monopoly. The family eventually ended up running Rowntrees and a Tuke was hereditary chairman of Barclays Bank so don't be too concerned about the welfare of the Tukes. Or that of the Merchant Adventurer's company who are still rich and influential today, although no longer trading. The middle picture shows the three decker pulpit in the Merchant adventurer's Chapel.
As a railway centre and former headquarters of the North Eastern Railway, York has the railway museum. I visited and sat in the driving seat in the cab of Mallard, the fastest steam railway engine. This was an experience as I could hardly see anything, although the attendant told me I would not be able to stop the train if anyone was on the tracks as the stopping distance was half a mile! Steam engines were fussy about the type of coal they liked, but perhaps more research would make this a viable source of power: One can burn anything to raise heat for steam.

York - Superstitious pictures?

York has the greatest collection of maedieval glass in the country. Just why the iconoclasts didn't bother about the glass here when they did in other places is a bit baffling truly. It is said that the city surrendered to Oliver Cromwell and so the windows were spared but this is not accurate as it was Thomas Cromwell, King Henry VIII's commissioner who was the iconoclast, and there was nothing to surrender to. Perhaps the citizens of York were not great reformers. Anyway the picture shows the oldest glass in York in St Deny's church. See the following article on iconoclasm in the Mapping Margery Kempe website. Margery Kempe is the patron of this blog. http://www.holycross.edu/departments/visarts/projects/kempe/devotion/iconoclasm.html

Barnard Castle – le chateau de la Tees.

Barnard castle is a County Durham market town, just on the wrong side of the Tees to cash in on James Heriot country and the Yorkshire Dales, but it’s almost as good. Its unique selling point is the Renascence style French chateau just outside called the Bowes Museum. It is quite amazing to find such a fine fine art museum in such a location, and the collection includes all sorts of items from a two headed calf to a silver swan, over 230 years old, that swims on a crystal pool then eats a silver fish. There are works by Canaletto and outstanding French furnishings and tapestries. Even the café is pretty good and greatly exceeded expectations. It’s well worth a visit.

The church has a fine Romanesque doorway on the south side although the entrance is under the North tower and there is an attractive market cross.

British West Hartlepool

(West) Hartlepool is a former steel working, shipbuilding town that likes you to believe it is a fishing port and a tourist destination. The Museum of Hartlepool and the historic quayside bring to life the story of decline and fall. The town has capitalised on its shipbuilding expertise by building HMS Warrior from a hull and refurbishing what was left of the Trincomalle. Maybe it will get the contract to do the Cutty Sark when this comes up.

Hartlepool is of course famous for hanging a monkey – allegedly – and the sporting taunt to Hartlepool teams is monkey hangers. The story goes that during the Napoleonic wars a British sea captain had a pet monkey. This monkey was either washed up on the beach or left behind, and because the townsfolk couldn’t understand the jabbering thought it was a French spy and hung it. Maybe it’s true.

I went to the new dockland marina development which has a sculpture of a monkey (see picture) as a wishing well, which I hit with my first 10p coin but the second went into the dock. There is also a sculpture of a noble hart (the thirteenth century town badge has a hart crossing a pool – a rebus).

The seaside bit of Hartlepool, Seaton Carew, was looking especially dowdy when I passed through.

Woodford Church St Mary

Charlton House

Charlton House is a large and well preserved jacobean house on the outskirts of London. It is a Greenwich Borough Council Library and community centre, the library being in the old chapel. In the Newton Room there is this spectacular chimney piece, showing mermaids and nymphs, and a man and a woman in a bondage harness, see the picture if you don't believe me! This seems rather inappropriate for the Dean of Durham Cathedral, who had the house built.

Bury St Edmunds in Suffolk

Bury St Edmunds, shrine of a king and cradle of the law, is, not surprisingly, the burial place of St Edmund. St Edmund was king of the East Angles, which is the territory now occupied by Norfolk and Suffolk. East Anglia therefore does not count Cambridgeshire or Essex within its boundaries. King Edmund's shrine was in Bury St Edmunds Abbey, which stands in ruins next to the cathedral. The walls are rough flint, but it was here that the barons made an oath to enforce the Magna Carta, and get King john to ratify it. Thus is Bury St Edmunds 'cradle of the law'.

The Cathedral is dedicated to St James and is of modern foundation, the diocese being created in 1914, around the same time as the Southwark diocese. The chancel of the church was rebuilt in the 1960s and the cathedral tower rebuilt between 2000 and 2005. The ceiling is brightly painted in the the chancel in imitation of maedieval painting. The cathedral close is an odd mixture of old and very old, with eighteenth century doors inserted into the rough original flint walls of the abbey buildings. It looks very unusual. Later on, Daniel Defoe, our first English novelist, lived in Bury St Edmunds after his release from prison, his house is now a strada restaurant.

The church of St Mary has the longest nave of any parish church in England (until I find another one with the longest nave. However the glory of the church is its hammer beam roof with life size angels. A heavenly choir adding praise to the earthly congregation and illustrating the church triumphant to the church 'militant here in earth'.

To come up to date, the first ever illuminated roadsign was erected in Bury St Edmunds in the 1930s. It still points the way!

There are also meadieval gateways but they lead nowhere.