The building of St-Pieterskerk (St Peter’s Church) commenced in the 1420s and continued for 200 years.

The nave and aisles were completed first, but when the twin towers of the western facade were finally added in 1507, the foundations proved inadequate and it soon began to sink. With money in short supply, it was decided to remove the top sections of the towers – hence the truncated versions of today.

Inside the church, the sweeping lines of the nave are intercepted by an impressive 1499 rood screen and Baroque wooden pulpit depicting the conversion of St Norbert. Norbert was a wealthy but irreligious German noble, who was hit by lightening while riding. His horse died, but he was unhurt and this led him to devote himself to the church.*

The church was severely damaged in both world wars. In 1914 the roof was burned off and in 1944 the north transept was bombed.  The church is currently undergoing repair work and part of it shrouded in scaffolding and inaccessible.

*From the Eyewitness Travel Guide to Belgium and Luxembourg

After such a long day  at Waterloo the day before, Mr C overslept a little so I got up quietly and read my book. Our plan for the day was to visit Abbey Park which is on the outskirts of Leuven. My plan was to go to hotel reception and ask about the travel options but this was vetoed so we headed off to the bus station to catch a bus. Just after we arrived at the bus station, a bus to our destination arrived. We didn’t get on it because Mr C was unsure whether you should have a bus pass or if you could pay per journey. After a bit of a kerfuffle (which I won’t go into) and after waiting for the next bus  (30 minutes later), we got on the bus after working out that we could hop on and pay.

I was aware of but didn’t mention the next problem that could potentially arise… Would we know when to get off the bus? I kept a watch on the street names and luckily was able to see the street name as it arrived at our destination stop. I announced we are here and we very hastily got off the bus. We then had a momentary dilemma concerning the direction we needed to go to find the Abbey Park. I (unusually!!) suggested that Mr C used a location widget that he has on his mobile phone, which he did successfully.

As we arrived, we walked up the long drive way to the Abbey Park and were surprised to see a heron in the stream next to the pathway. Walking towards the buildings, we noticed that everything looked closed, despite the promotional leaflet from the tourist information office and the Abbey Park’s website, saying it should be open! We found that only the museum was open and were informed, ‘You know the Abbey is closed don’t you? There is a guided tour on Sunday afternoon’. We were disappointed to learn this because we were particularly looking forward to seeing the Abbey’s library. However the museum was very interesting, telling the history of the Abbey, the Norbertines and St Norbert. When we had finished in the museum we made our way back to the bus stop so that we could have lunch in Leuven.

After lunch we browsed around a few book shops before pausing for refreshments. I had a mint tea which was presented in an interesting way, with mint leaves steeped in boiling water before leaving the customer to add the teabag. Since we were in the pub next to (and supplied by) the local brewery Mr C tried a taster of three of the brewery’s beers. As we made our way back to the hotel in order to freshen up before dinner, the Hush Puppy shop called me back and I made another purchase…

Our chosen venue for dinner provided excellent food and service and the wine selected to go with my meal was a perfect match. The one criticism I have of the restaurant was that we were not asked if we would like a dessert or coffee so, passing on dessert, we made our way back to the hotel for the evening.

We were both a bit slow to emerge from sleep due to the previous day being so long. When we arrived at the breakfast room we found it was stocked with all the basic needs for a no-frills breakfast. After enjoying breakfast, we decided to step into the hotel’s garden quadrangle and found that we could not return because the door had locked itself as it shut!! The quadrangle was completely enclosed and all other exits were also shut. After a few minutes we were able to flag down an amused member of staff who fortunately was able to open the door.

After our escape we made our way to the tourist information centre where we picked up several information leaflets and gleaned additional information from the lady behind the desk. We had a drink of tea in the market square whilst deciding our plan of action for the day. After Mr C had booked a Town Hall tour for later in the day, we briefly visited the church of St Peter before making our way to the M Museum. The museum was a very interesting art gallery and we found the electronic guided tour system was a lot more advanced and discreet than we are used to in the United Kingdom. The current exhibition was a display of silver objects, some of which were from St Peter’s church. After a break for lunch we completed the M Museum tour which was a display of art and silver housed within St Peter’s church. We finished looking around the church with only a few minutes to spare before it was time for our guided tour of the Town Hall.

The Town Hall tour was excellent and our guide explained many interesting facts and features, one of particular interest is that the statues on the higher levels increased in height to give the building a sense of height. After the main tour, a few of us stayed behind for an additional tour of the attic, reached by a spiral staircase, where we were able to view the original stonework which had been copied and replaced with more durable material on the outer edifices of the building.

After our busy day we returned to the hotel to freshen up before returning to the city for our evening meal. I had rabbit with prunes for my main course. Whilst dining we chatted with a Finnish chemistry professor and his Chinese student who were preparing for an eight minute talk in the Catholic University next day. I once again observed the white robed monk I saw  the previous evening passing by. When it was time for dessert, I asked how many scoops of ice cream would be served because the menu was unclear. I was informed that all the dishes had three scoops unless I wished for less so I ordered one scoop. When the waiter served the dessert he said, “Here you are miss” and as I looked down I noticed that the serving bowl seemed to have two black (Disney-like) mouse ears protruding from the side. On closer inspection I found Minnie Mouse hiding underneath my ice cream… The amused waiter was enjoying himself and referred to me as Miss for the rest of the evening.

After our evening meal we once again retired to the hotel, where I once again had a nice glass of Rose wine before retiring to our room for a good night’s sleep.

John 5:24

Just outside the grounds of Doddington Hall and Gardens lies St Peter’s Church.

St Peter’s Church dates back to the medieval period, and is visible in the Kipp print of 1707. In 1775, after completing the work in the Hall, John Delaval rebuilt the church in the flamboyant Gothick style, which he copied from the surviving medieval side of the chapel.

An imposing lead spire was removed in 1949, having become unsafe.

The church contains memorials to many of the Jarvis family who lived at Doddington or often died soldiering abroad. For a church of its size, St. Peter’s Church also has exceptional stained glass windows.*

*From Doddington Hall & Gardens handbook