All Saints is the parish church of Evesham and, together with its bell tower and St Lawrence church, represent the last complete structures from the foundation of Evesham Abbey. Evesham Abbey was founded on the site of a vision of the Blessed Virgin Mary by the swineherd Eof, subsequently endorsed by Egwin, the third Bishop of Worcester (639 – 717). The Abbey was founded circa 709 and dissolved by Henry VIII in 1540. *

The two churches of All Saints and St Lawrence share the same churchyard. Both were founded in the late 12^th century as parish churches for the growing medieval town. When they were built these two churches stood in the shadow of the Abbey Church of St Mary and St Egwin (comparable in size with Gloucester Cathedral). **

*Information from a signboard next to All Saints church

**Information from A guide to the Parish Church of All Saints Evesham (Stan Brotherton)

There was a particular shop (Magpie) that Mr C wanted to visit in Evesham so on Saturday we took a trip there stopping for lunch at Ellenden Farm shop cafe. Local produce is used throughout the menu and I decided to have a hot cross bun which arrived warm and toasty.

When we arrived in Evesham Mr C was a man on a mission whilst I was in photography mode. Eventually I caught up with him at ‘Magpie’ where we (especially Mr C) spent some time perusing what was on offer.

Next, we visited Abbey Gardens where All Saint’s church, St Lawrence church and the Abbey Bell Tower are situated. St Lawrence church is only open in the morning but we were able to visit the delightful Parish church. After I left the church, I lingered to take some photos in the church precinct and then walked through the bell tower arch to explore the scant remains of the former Abbey.

Mr C had been heading in the opposite direction but caught up with me as I was about to return through the archway. At the same time a man stopped to talk to me, pointing out a Peregrine falcon on top of the tower. He called to her so she turned to face us for a photoshoot, although my photo doesn’t do her justice. She then gracefully flew off round the tower giving us a fine display of her wings.

My new found friend also shared the less welcome news that some of the male falcons were being shot at and killed by ‘perhaps’ catapults…

We didn’t have enough time left to visit the Almonry Museum, the building itself also being part of the original Abbey complex. However, we had just enough time to stop for afternoon tea in the Old School Café where dogs are welcome and children merely tolerated. The shared chocolate chip flapjack was delicious.

Evesham we will be back!

2021 reviewed in 12 photographs, one from each month of the year.

For some of the months it was difficult to choose only one photograph.

The individual photos can be viewed by clicking on the links below.

1. Leegomery Pool, 2. Local Pathway, 3. All Saints Church, Wellington, 4. Hodnet Hall, 5. Ludlow Castle Walls, 6. Stonehenge, 7. Tasty Treats in Ledbury, 8. Roseway, Wellington, 9. View from Brough Castle, 10. Autumn, 11. Fountains Abbey, 12. The Swan Hotel, Hay-on-Wye

The Cock Hotel in Wellington has been in the process of refurbishment for some time. In recent days as we drove past we noticed that the refurbishment was moving more quickly.

This inspired me to read up about the developments and plans inspiring me to walk to the Cock Hotel to see the results of the outside developments. How different it looks to when I visited for Friday lunch time meetings. I can’t wait to see what it looks like inside.

I didn’t take any photos of the Old Coaching Inn, just a few photos from my walk there and back again.

The medieval cross base, known as the ‘Weeping Cross’, would appear to be a unique survivor of many such crosses in England. The place name ‘Weeping Cross’ still exists in Stafford, Banbury and Shrewsbury but no physical evidence remains. The age of this ancient and venerable relic is not known. It is certainly as old as the church, and perhaps much older if it was brought from  the ’sinking chapel’ site. There is no cross now, but the socket where it fitted is clearly seen in the top of the upper stone. Iconoclasts may have removed the original cross (possibly a crucifix) at the time of the Reformation.

The manner of which the ‘Weeping Cross’ was used has been a subject of considerable debate among antiquarians. The Shrewsbury cross is known to have been the focus of a procession of the Blessed Sacrament by the monastic and secular clergy on the Festival of Corpus Christi, before the celebrations of the Holy Eucharist took place at one of the neighbouring churches. After the Reformation, the festival became secular and later an annual fair. The Ripley cross being located close to a church may have had a similar role in pre-Reformation times. The eight recesses, most likely for the head of kneeling devotees, would tend to support the idea of such group usage.

The term ‘weeping cross’ also seems to  indicate the expression of grief, remorse or repentance. This may relate to the death of Christ and the Festival of Corpus Christi. However the public expression of such emotions in atonement for sins or crimes was not uncommon in medieval times and may be an alternative explanation. *

Since the leaflet was written a simply wooden cross has been placed has been placed on top of the stone.

*Information from a church leaflet – A Short History of  All Saints’ Church Ripley

After breakfast our first port of call was Ripley where we enjoyed a stroll round the village. Although Mr C wasn’t particularly taken with it, I enjoyed the church which had some interesting historical features including the base of  a medieval cross known as ‘the weeping cross’ and which is thought to be a unique survival of a structure of this type.

The next village on our list was Pateley Bridge where we went for a brief walk along a pathway by the river Nidd to find the Pillars Past sculpture before exploring the town.

Before we left the area I suggested that we made a detour to view Coldstones Cut, a massive sculpture with viewing platforms looking over the nearby quarry and surrounding countryside.  The effort of climbing the short steep walk to get to the monument rewarded us both with a WOW moment!

We had walked up an appetite so we headed to Ripon for lunch which we enjoyed sitting on a bench in the gardens by the war memorial. After lunch we toured Ripon Cathedral which I had not been to before. Over 10,000 origami angels were suspended from the ceiling. I learned that it was a project called ‘A Wing and A Prayer’ which had been designed in the early days of lockdown to recognise the work done by keyworkers and those on the front line. I found the installation breathtaking.

Whilst there I was able to get the first stamp in my 2020 Year of Cathedrals Pilgrim Passport. At the beginning of 2020 it had planned to visit many Cathedrals this year. Maybe next year…

We weren’t ready to go back to the hotel so we detoured via Knaresborough. We walked through the town spotting the window murals known as the ‘Knaresborough windows’ ending up by the castle and war memorial which due to their elevated position treated us to spectacular views of the Victorian aqueduct and the gorge below. We returned to the car via the Bebra Gardens where I spotted a beautiful memorial bench.

Back at the hotel we had our last evening chill out before dinner in the restaurant. When we arrived at the restaurant we were told that our table wasn’t quite ready. I said that’s OK and suggested that a seat could be found for us and we would order a pre-dinner drink. There were no seats were available so with our agreement we were taken to an outside table to wait with our pre-dinner drink. Our drinks didn’t arrive a promptly as we expected and, after some time, we were seated in a back room away from the bar area and restaurant, not quite what we expected as hotel residents who had booked.

As time passed, we found ourselves alone in that area with two tables of loud non-residents. In normal circumstances we would have moved to a more ambient area but due to Covid-19 rules we stayed put rather than introducing more cleaning areas for the hotel staff. A lovely waitress that had been looking after us during our stay was a bit put out that we had been sidelined into a back room and made a point of coming to say goodbye to us before she clocked off for the evening. How special was that!

]]> http://www.cheriesplace.me.uk/blog/index.php/2020/10/08/harrogate-day-three/feed/ 4 http://www.cheriesplace.me.uk/blog/index.php/2015/04/07/the-easter-cross-2/ http://www.cheriesplace.me.uk/blog/index.php/2015/04/07/the-easter-cross-2/#comments Tue, 07 Apr 2015 18:28:10 +0000 CherryPie http://www.cheriesplace.me.uk/blog/?p=15368

As part of the Easter celebrations my local parish church erects a wooden cross and adorns it with flowers. This is done by the congregation just before the Easter morning service. I think it is a lovely idea and little children bring flowers to place on the Easter Cross. The Church ‘Flower Ladies’ help to adorn the cross with the flowers.

The top photo was taken by me on Easter Monday after I had returned home from my weekend in Lincoln. Unfortunately it was in shadow by the time I got there.  The photo below (not taken by me) shows my Mum and and a friend of hers after they (along with two other helpers) had finished placing the flowers on the cross. I think the cross looks particularly beautiful this year and it seems I am not the only one. As I was taking photographs a lady walked past and said to me “Isn’t that the most beautiful thing you have seen all day?”

Photo from  All Saints Wellington Facebook page.