Richard Bach

On one of the walls just inside the entrance to Ely Cathedral there is a large modern sculpture of a cross.

On the North West Transept wall there is a magnificent sculpture called ‘The Way of Life‘ by Jonathan Clarke. One of three sculptures specially commissioned for the millennium, Jonathan Clarke’s The Way of Life is made of cast aluminium and has nine sections, each differently jointed. Like the journey of faith, its path is irregular and unpredictable; and just as the journey is sometimes hard, sometimes joyful, the surface texture and colour also vary. On the top arm you might be able to make out a minute human figure, someone who is perhaps on the journey.

I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing.

John 15:4-5 (KJV)

Little Malvern Court is a 14th century Prior’s Hall once attached to a 12th century Benedictine Priory with Victorian additions. The house, home to the Berington family by descent since the Dissolution of the Monasteries displays paintings and furniture along with a collection of 18th and 19th century and needlework.

Doubtless, the preservation of this notable medieval hall can be ascribed to the fact that since the dissolution of the Monasteries  in the 1530s by order of King Henry VIII, the property has passed by descent from John Russell in the early 16th Century to the Berington family, the present owners.

The Benedictine Priory of Little Malvern was founded by Bishop Simon of Worcester in the first half of the 12th Century. A small monastery (never having more than a dozen monks at any one time), it was subject to the See of Worcester. On his Visitation in 1480, Bishop Alcock of Worcester was most displeased at ‘the great ruin of the church and place’ at Little Malvern. Bishop Alcock set about a major restoration work of the Church and Monastery, having despatched the monks to Gloucester for two years as a punishment. The walls of the Prior’s Hall bear traces of his repair work. *

Our guided tour of Little Malvern Court revealed to us that there was more to its history than the was initially apparent from the advertising literature. We learned that the Russells were a recusant family from Strensham and that the house was a safe place for Catholics that did not wish to renounce their faith in favour of the Church of England.

The house had a resident priest and a secret chapel in the eaves of the house. On our way up to the chapel we were shown black marks on the wooden beams which are thought to be marks warding off evil spirits. We were also shown an access point in the ceiling that could have been an escape route for the priests and worshipers, although it is not known where the exit led to. The chapel is accessed by staircase which is more ladder than stair. From the chapel we were shown where a landing had been cut away. The landing when intact would have connected the chapel to a spiral staircase on the opposite side of the building.

When we returned downstairs we were shown the access to the spiral staircase, which still exists. After looking at the wall I was convinced that there would have been a secret panel in the wall concealing the staircase access.

*From A brief history of Little Malvern Court Worcestershire

Synopsis from the book cover:

Truth is stranger than fiction. And nowhere in literature is it so apparent as in this classic work, The Autobiography of a Hunted Priest. This autobiography of a Jesuit priest in Elizbethan England is most remarkable document and John Gerard, its author,  a most remarkable priest in a time when to be a Catholic in England courted imprisonment and torture; to be a priest was treason by act of Parliament.

Smuggled into England after his ordination and dumped on a Norfolk beach at night, Fr. Gerard disguised himself as a country gentleman and traveled about the country saying Mass, preaching, and ministering to the faithful in secret – always in constant danger. The houses in which he found shelter were frequently raided by “priest hunters”; priest-holes, hide-outs, and hair-breadth escapes were part of daily life. He was finally caught and imprisoned, and later remove to the infamous Tower of London, where he was brutally tortured.

The stirring account of his escape, by means of a rope thrown across the moat, is a daring and magnificent climax to a true story which, for sheer narrative power and interest, far exceeds any fiction.

But more than the story of a single priest, The Autobiography of a Hunted Priest epitomizes the constant struggle of all human beings through the ages to maintain their freedom. It is a book of courage and conviction, whose message is most timely for our age.

Review:

In the comments section of my post on John Gerard in the Tower of London my friend Lisl recommended this book.

The story is a historical account of religious persecution in the Elizabethan era from a Jesuit perspective. The story of John is both inspiring and humbling in equal measures. His faith, determination and gentleness enabled him to overcome extreme and impossible situations.

The final paragraph of the synopsis sums up the essence of the book. I recommend you read the book and be inspired by John’s courage, gentleness and conviction.

Recently I was inspired by a post entitled ‘The Gift of Gates‘, it chimed with things that have happened to me over the years and reminded me of some unusual events leading up to and after my dad passed away.

I invite you to join me at Vision & Verb where my latest post details some of those unusual events – ‘Things That Make You Go Hmm‘…

St Augustine of Hippo (1817-1862)