Old Doorway

In the middle of Colchester centre stands this Saxon tower, built around 1020 AD they say.  This is the oldest known church in the town, and as the Saxon's tended to build in wood, abundant in the area while stone is not, this may well replace a previous structure.  Actually, outside the new police station lies the traces of a building thought by some to be the first Christian church in the island, possibly built in the first 300 years of the millennium.   There is an abundance of Roman tiles in the doorway and the walls of the tower, which shows how entrenched the Romans were here.   The doorway is not encouraging fat people (oops, sorry, grammar nazi's insist on 'obese.') to enter is it?  

  
The narrow street meant I could not get a better picture from there but sufficient to show the height.  I can imagine their shaky scaffolding as the tower grew!  Amongst the graves in the plot squashed around the tower lies one William Gilberd, whom you will recognise as the physician to Queen Elizabeth I.  He also discovered 'electro-magnetism' whatever that is.  Also entombed lies one John Wilbye, whom you will recall was famous for writing madrigals. (A note to the less enlightened, madrigals were songs, not magazines)  I stuck my head through the side door into what once was a church to find a dingy hall filled with tables all askew.  The hall now serves youth and sometimes is used as a music venue.  While useful to many this appears to me to be a sad end for such a building.  

All around us lie things we never see because they have always been there.  I suspect folks walking up East Hill never glance at this one time watering place.  We take clean water for granted, except when the bill comes in, but until the middle of the 19th century it was not always so.  Water was often polluted, if available, and beer was safer to drink.  Many houses built near the end of the century still shared a common water pump.  This one was erected in 1864 'In Memorium,' but it does not say of whom!  I can imagine bare footed children crowding around each time they passed for a free drink.  Quite what the lower niche was for I know not. Did they wash their feet there perhaps.  

I noticed this in the walls of the priory but am undecided as to the purpose.  A window perhaps? Too high of the ground for anything else.  In RC tradition a light is kept burning, possibly this was connected to that, possibly not.  You can see the haphazard stonework.  Anything lying around was used.

 Yet another memorial to the war dead stands in the priory grounds.  To which members of the town I did not look to see however I was once again struck by the use of the phrase 'The Glorious Dead.'  How the people at home wanted to believe the losses had been worthwhile.   The effect of the losses remains in our character to this day.  

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Christchurch Priory

To get away from her indoors for a few hours out of the house he and I drove around the edge of town looking at the horrendous flooding that has occurred in this region.  Huge acres were covered in water, much more than in previous years.  The fields were covered in numbers of swans rather than horses.  Interesting to look at from the safety of the car, although not when the stuff swamped the roads, but not what I would wish outside my door.  Driving through some small interesting red bricked villages, never designed for vehicle traffic, we arrived eventually at Christchurch where we sauntered among the Boxing Day walkers braving the howling wind.  The swans eagerly gathered around those foolish enough to wear themselves out and sit on the sheltered benches for a sandwich.  The tide here was so high at one point it had actually reached as high as the benches, these were covered with the detritus left behind by the water.

Much wealth found around this area.  Even in the days of long ago this area was inhabited, it was well developed by the time the Romans arrived and later saw the Saxons move in.  It is thought a chap named Birnius erected a minster here around the late 600's.  This was demolished by the Norman chaps once they took over and in their humble manner they rebuilt the place in solid stone.  The church was part of the Augustinian Monastery which began in 1094 and lasted as such until Henry 8 dissolved the monasteries in1539 to find himself an heir. It Typical Norman stone arches stand proud and are always worth a look in my (very) humble opinion.

The 'quire' stalls are decorated with intricate carvings.  It was here the monks would worship during compline or matins.  Whether the constant construction and reconstruction bothered them I know not.  Today I notice the stalls have red cushions on them, I wonder if this was always the case?  

Christchurch took this name in the 12th century when the story of the 'miraculous beam' began.  Since the dissolution the church has served as a parish church for the area.  Just as well this is a wealthy area, the upkeep must be enormous.  It must always have cost a fortune to keep the fabric of the building in shape.  The number of masons and such like who have worked here must be enormous also.  The carvings found here are worth a look.  When in such places I cannot help but think of the thousands who have passed through for whatever reason in the past, some leaving their graffiti as they did so, others their memory is found on a tablet folks rich enough have placed on the walls.     

Today the vicar is a man who actually knows his God, something unusual amongst Anglicans I can tell you, however he is far from perfect, he is an American!  Imagine!   The Victorians naturally decided the vicar required a home equated with his status and a red brick house stands at the edge of the grounds.  As always I cannot ignore the lovely door, note the beginning of the yellow lines at the bottom of the steps.

What a way to spend Boxing Day, while stayed where she ought to, cooking lunch for our return.  What a great woman!  The one thing that keeps her inside at such times is the idea of passing by the waterside, especially in a cold wind.  She hates that.  Such trips ensure a constant supply of fabulous dinners.   

2012 ends soon and I will be glad to see the back of the year.  Hogmany will hopefully bring a better year tomorrow.  I hope so for all our sakes.