There and Back

On one of my visits to the Cathedral church in BSE, I have heard brief excerpts of music from the organ, and have been much impressed by it. So, when I read that they were doing lunchtime recitals  a few times in the summer, I decided to make sure I was there to listen to one - today was that day. While I was visiting the Abbey gardens, I also had in mind to search for the Medieval bridge that I had seen on maps - The Abbotts's Bridge.  This was my first aim for the day. The Abbott’s Bridge over the River Lark in Bury St Edmunds abbey grounds, was built around AD 1220. The land on the east side of the River Lark came to be used as the Vinefields, and on the abbey side, the monks could cross uninhibited. An iron grating being lowered, if necessary, to prevent any unwanted visitors on the river. The Abbots Bridge gave immediate access to these vinefields by the townspeople via planks through the bridge’s open buttresses. Two 14th century triangular ‘breakwaters’ on the bridge`s...

2022 - A year of celebrations to mark 1,000 years since the founding of the Abbey of St Edmund in Bury St Edmunds by King Canute. Various events are being held this year and I took a brief visit to get a snapshot of the celebrations. Obviously, I have visited Bury many times before, so the first couple of images are from the beautiful gardens taken previously. The gardens really are worth a visit on their own. They are always kept in immaculate condition no matter what the time of year. The first Patron Saint of England and King of East Anglia, Saint Edmund was enshrined in the Abbey lending his name to the town. The shrine brought visits from across the UK and abroad including Royalty as the Abbey became one of the most famous and wealthy pilgrimage locations in England. Today, the extensive Abbey remains are surrounded by the Abbey Gardens, which are visited by some 1.3million people every year. So onto some images of the ruins of the original abbey.. The story of St Edmund, who rule...

Norwich is the administrative center of Norfolk and a lovely city to visit. It is steeped in history and has many fine buildings, including two Cathedrals and a Castle keep. To quote Wikipedia: Norwich is a cathedral city in Norfolk, England. Situated on the River Wensum in East Anglia, it lies approximately 100 miles (161 km) north-east of London. It is the county town of Norfolk and is considered the capital of East Anglia, with a population of 141,300. From the Middle Ages until the Industrial Revolution, Norwich was the largest city in England after London, and one of the most important.  The city is the most complete medieval city in the UK, including cobbled streets such as Elm Hill, Timber Hill and Tombland, ancient buildings such as St Andrew's Hall, half-timbered houses such as Dragon Hall, The Guildhall and Strangers' Hall, the Art Nouveau of the 1899 Royal Arcade, many medieval lanes and the winding River Wensum that flows through the city centre towards Norwi...

We were hoping that today's rain would not be too heavy as we planned a trip to Canterbury to visit the cathedral primarily, but anything else in the town that took our interest.This was a place we had not visited before. Before we left for our visit,Mr fox was spotted again jogging through the field at the back of the property.  And so, via a convenient Park And Ride, we arrived in the center of Canterbury.  Not many photographs taken on the outside as the main west end was covered in scaffolding but just a few for the record! St Augustine, the first Archbishop of Canterbury, arrived on the coast of Kent as a missionary to England in 597 AD. He came from Rome, sent by Pope Gregory the Great. It is said that Gregory had been struck by the beauty of Angle slaves he saw for sale in the city market and despatched Augustine and some monks to convert them to Christianity. Augustine was given a church at Canterbury (St Martin’s, after St Martin of Tours, still...