Lincoln Cathedral

I have been to Lincoln before mainly to walk around the Christmas market and not buy anything, they have been occasions with friends and family. I have even been in the cathedral to have a sit down but I had never had the opportunity to walk around and take the place in. I guess like Southwell Minster the nearness of it made it a place that I could always go and see next week if I wanted to.

You can see the cathedral for miles, it's location on top of one of the few hilly parts of the county gives it more gravitas. Which is what those that built it wanted. The Normans hadn't quite secured the country from all rebellious factions and along with the castle in Lincoln park hey made their intentions clear.

The church had a big say in the running of the country right up to the reformation it would probably be hard to differentiate between church and state. In some ways Lincoln Cathedral benefited from this. Although not during the reign of king Stephen when the cathedral was regularly under siege. 

It was after the murder of Thomas Beckett that the cathedral started to resemble totally it's current form. Damaged by fire and earthquake the cathedral had under gone much building work. With the murder of Beckett park of Henry II's penance was to build churches and monasteries and Lincoln was one of the places to benefit under it's own saintly bishop Hugh.

Saint Hugh isn't to be confused with the shrine of little Hugh in the cathedral. Lincoln had a large and thriving Jewish population during the 13th century and as is often the case the outsider is vilified. In this case a young boy is said to be the victim of ritual killing. This was pinned on the Jewish community. It is something that the cathedral has come to except is wrong and when the body was exhumed show to be totally false. There is a plaque near the shrine acknowledging the fact. Up steep hill is still some reminders of this time in the names of the buildings such as Jew Court.

I was interested to see the tomb of Katherine Swynford who was the mistress and later the third wife of John of Gaunt, they also married in the cathedral. these are an interesting couple and I will in due course write more about them.

I somehow missed the visceral tomb of Eleanor of Castile. She was the wife of Edward I. When she died in 1290 near Lincoln, her journey to London to bury her in Westminster Abbey started a cross was erected to mark each stop of her journey and ended at Caring Cross.

the cathedral is on a scale that isn't surpassed by a building of it's type in England. For a time it was the largest building in the world and the sense of awe that you feel from just standing in front of those imposing towers you can almost feel the wonder that pilgrims 800 years ago would have looked at this cathedral with.

There are so many interesting and important people that passed through the cathedral it seems a shame to condense them into such a short blog. So I will come back and talk about them in more detail. I will be coming back to Lincoln again. After all much of the castle was closed and won't open until next year.

The survival of this wonderful place is amazing, and the work in conserving it is just a astounding. I suggest if you have never been you should go, even if you have go again. maybe I will see you there.

Southwell Minster

Today I went to Southwell Minster for the first time. It is one of my aims in life to visit all of England's cathedrals (apart maybe from Coventry's new cathedral), so it comes as a surprise why I haven't visited one that is so close to where I live. I didn't grow up and n Mansfield despite being born here and living here now so I never went there on school trips like most of my friends. Which means they weren't keen to go there on days out.

But now I have and I have to say it was worth the wait. Ely and Norwich are probably my two favourite (hopefully I'll write posts about them soon) but this is a nice cathedral all the same. I say cathedral although it is known as a minster the fact that this is where the bishop of Southwell and Nottingham makes this a cathedral all the same.

That isn't the only anomaly about Southwell as it isn't really a city despite having a cathedral. The cathedral status wasn't bestowed on the minster until 1884. It seems odd to a church of such history and pedigree.

The fact that the area had a Roman building of some sort if fairly unusual for the area, having grown up near Chichester and along the south coast it was almost taken for granted that things would be built upon Roman foundations.

From it's earliest days as a church it was associated with the Archbishops of York and a number of them are hurried at the minster. It wasn't however until the 12th century that the current building started to take shape. This was a rich time for buildings of this type and many of the elements of the minster can be seen all over the country and even in France.

The minster seems to be on a more human level than most cathedrals of the same period which reached for the heavens both in terms of their connection with religion and also with power and status of those that built them. The grand arches are close for inspection and so is some of the intricate carvings on the walls and this is evident in the Chapter House.

Southwell how ever wasn't build with the same intentions although it's huge towers make it just as awesome to look at. Many of it's expansion is visible on it's outer walls. It's 19th century restoration has helped preserved a building well worth visiting.

This is part of the country that was central to the civil war that saw the country briefly become a republic and this are more obviously clear on the landscape of the nearby Newark and Nottingham. It was Southwell Minster however that Charles I was captured.

There is still so much to see and explore and will be visiting again and maybe exploring more of the town and taking more photos.

Up the 'wood!

The premier cricket club in Mansfield Woodhouse is Sherwood Cricket club. If you were to visit their Debdale park home during any weekend over the summer apart from the usual polite applause and willow on leather you will occasionally here the refrain ‘up the wood!’ for Sherwood is at the very heart of the sporting community of Woodhouse.

Despite the colliery that gives the club its name being closed for over 20 years its legacy remains in the form of cricket. The swimming baths that were created for the colliery has now been remained after its most famous graduate Rebecca Adlington. The cricket club is proud of its heritage and though the youngest members are not old enough to remember the mining days there is always someone on hand who can tell you the history of the old ground.

The club runs four teams split over the weekend two playing in the prestigious Bassetlaw League on a Saturday and two in the ever expanding and popular Mansfield and District League. Players of all ages compete and youth development is very much at the core of these endeavours. A strong group of young players has emerged and the future of the club has never looked so healthy.

One player who has been helped to develop not only as a player but as a coach is John Dryden, he joined the club when he was eight years old and hasn’t looked back since. “I’ve had some great laughs and enjoyed my time playing cricket here. I’ve received some fantastic opportunities to develop and really liked the commitment to help me become a level 2 coach.”

John is now at Durham University studying to become a teacher. His kwik cricket only lost one game last year and there is a group of young players who hopefully will be part of successful Sherwood teams in the future. This year will see some of them go on to play hard ball cricket in under 13 and 15 teams. Youngsters who want to play are encouraged to come down and give it a go.

Sherwood is a self-funded club and relies on the good will of players, family, supporters and sponsors to help fund the club both on and off the pitch. Over the last couple of years the facilities at the club have improved beyond measure with new nets, sightscreens, scorebox and covers making the club one of the best equipped in the area. The plans are not to stop there and make Debdale Park one of the best grounds in the county. This can only be achieved with your continued support.

If you would like to get involved there are a number of non-playing roles that are essential in the day to day running of the club from scorers to raffle ticket sellers.  

The preparations for the new season are well under way with plans for a NatWest Cricket Force day to get the facilities ready for the players and nets are due to start on 1st of March at the manor Sports Complex. If you fancy giving cricket a bash then Sherwood is the place to start.

The Novium, Chichester

When looking into my visit to Chichester a place I used to visit often when I was young it was real interest than I came across a museum that wasn't here on my last visit. Not far from the cathedral, tucked away on a side street is The Novium, built over the remains of a thermae a kind of Roman bath house.

While it's Roman past is important to Chichester this a museum about much more than that. There are interactive elements that all museums should encourage. The best way to engage in history is to be able to touch it. The fact that examples of historic headwear are free to try on and photograph yourself in is fun and helps realise how heavy a Norman solider or Roman centurion's armour must have weighed from the head down.

Over the space of a coupe of floors are exhibits that to chart the history of an ancient city. Each time period is clearly colour coordinated. This helps enormously for those with an interest in a particular area of study or just to show you how distinct the development of a place can be.

The ground floor Roman exhibits are interesting, the remains of the baths alone are worth the entrance fee. Uncovered in 1974 and 1975 the intactness of such a find makes them a reward glimpse into Roman life without leaving our own shores.

Other Roman artifacts include a mosaic from Chilgrove, which you can see just how intricate the work would have been put into each design. Also there is what is thought to be the base of a statue of Jupiter and a head of a statue of a Roman emperor found at Bosham.

The view of the cathedral and the city from the second floor is one of the best you will get as the little interesting facts such as Chichester having more Fareham still chimney pots than Fareham itself.

Having only opened in 2012 I am sure it will serve a fine city for many years to come.

If you want to know more or plan a visit then visit their website www.novium.org or their Facebook page www.Facebook.com/TheNovium and not forgetting Twitter @TheNovium

Bosham church

There were times when I felt like turning back on the mile and half Walk from the train station, large puddles hugged the side of the road and walking near some as cars sped through staying water over six foot in the air I thought this could have been a big mistake, but I put my hood up and ploughed on. Just as I turned the corner to the quay the rain eased and I entered the churchyard to a stunning little Saxon church.

This was after all a church that was depicted in the Bayeux Tapestry. Bosham's history is much older than this of course and there are places nearby that the areas Roman history is evident such a Fishbourne with it's palace or Porchester where the walls of the Norman castle are Roman.

Bosham was were a large head of a statue thought for so long to be of Emperor Trajan but more likely Nero. This is now in the Novium museum at Chichester.

The 11th century was a busy time for the church and the town of Bosham. king Canute is believed to have lived in the the area at one point or another. It is reputed that his daughter is buried in the church after she drowned. This is of course highly debatable as is said to be the venue he tried to commanded the tide to halt, although many places also claim this to be the case.

Of course in the years after there is more substantial evidence of the goings on, one of Harold's visits is mentioned on the Bayeux Tapestry. Two years before he met in battle with William he went to visit him in Normandy to discus who become king of England after Edward the Confessor and set sail from Bosham.

While I like to think that my visit was as important as that one it was not, of course this period in time will be visited in future posts, I hope it just highlights how important Sussex is in the story of England as a whole.

There is also a great little booklet that the church produces about the place it's history and construction. Why not visit for yourself or look at their website www.boshamchurch.org.UK

An eye on Rye

There are places that look lovely and then never live up to their hype, but Rye is a place that lives up to expectation and surpasses. Having spent longer getting here than it should have taken, mostly my fault (the small fire at Hastings Railway Station didn't help) it was with real awe that I looked around the town.

I have always been and shall be a bit of a history buff. I like the architecture of anything up to and including Victorian Gothic. Rye for me then was a delight. The small streets give the place an atmosphere that you could walk around it all day if it wasn't so small.

Small is good. You can take things in on a bigger scale. Such as Ypres tower, one of the oldest buildings in the town it hints at Rye's past as one of the Cinque Ports. Which gave it self governance and freedom from taxes. Rye was a target for a number of raids by the French.

Rye is now two miles inland and shows the fickle nature of the coast line in this part of the county. winchelsea the next town down the coast was rebuilt after the old town was destroyed by the sea only for it to now be inland.

Mermaid Street is one of the most interesting and photographed streets in Sussex. There is a mix of buildings from Medieval to Georgian. This I think is why it holds it's charm. There is a hint of preservation but not in a overly handed way. The shops are mainly independent business and are homed in buildings that will be here for a long time longer.
Much of this history can be discovered in the heritage centre which has a sound and light show with a town model

Rye's literary past is also something to boast about with Henry James and EF Benson both having occupied Lamb House at some time or another. Other notable writers to have lived in the town are John Fletcher the Jacobian play write and Radclyffe Hall. For me though the fact that John Ryan the creator of 'Captain Pugwash'  lived in the town made me the happiest out of the lot. Although the fact that the Cheeky Girls live in the town makes one chuckle as well.

I am going to come back to Rye and look at more of these places in more detail but I hope for now that I have left you with enough to inspire a visit of your own.

A quick run round Lewes

Lewes is one of those places that I haven't taken the time to get to know really well. I used the library to help with uni work and I like to buy my friends different beers from the Harvey's brewery shop. Today was no different. Having arrived in Haywards Heath at half two I only had a couple of hours to go and map things out for future reference before it got dark and I could no longer take any photos.

When I go to any place I don't know so well it is always interesting to try and get lost and discover places you would never knew were there. This was no different today as I found Southover grange gardens. There place must look beautiful in the summer and it looked in fine shape today.

Made from the ruins of the priory of Saint Pancras the grange often had royal visitors such as the future George IV who rode his carrige up the near by Keere Street, a wonderful cobble street that is on a fairly steep incline, although there are many steeper in the county.

Carry on walking and you will pass the building in which Thomas Paine lived.Paine is a man who influenced the American Revolution with his writing and had a lot to say which would be an injustice to write about right now but I will get round to writing about him soon I am sure.

The places I didn't visit such as the priory, castle and Anne of Cleves house will have to wait for another day, that maybe this week but count on hearing about it from me soon. tomorrow I move onto Eastbourne and hopefully Rye.