The Red Knight

The Red Knight Rides Forth

Red Knight is a title borne by several characters in Arthurian legend. The first is likely the Red Knight of the Forest of Quinqeroi in Chrétien de Troyes' Perceval, the Story of the Grail; he steals a cup from King Arthur and is killed by the protagonist Perceval, who wears his armor and comes to be known as the Red Knight himself. In Wolfram von Eschenbach's Parzival, a retelling of Chrétien, the Red Knight is identified as Sir Ither, the Red Knight of Kukumerlant, a cousin to both Arthur and Parzival.

Two other Red Knights appear in the tale of Gareth in Sir Thomas Malory's Le Morte d'Arthur. The first is named Sir Perimones and is also known as "The Puce Knight", who, like his three brothers the Black Knight, the "Green Knight" (distinct from the character in Sir Gawain and the Green Knight), and Sir Persant of Inde "The Blue Knight, is bested by the young Gareth. After these initial trials Gareth must face the Red Knight of the Red Launds, whose real name is Sir Ironside. Ironside has the strength of seven men and has trapped the princess of Lyonesse in a tower from which Gareth must save her. Though he had demonstrated a cruel and sadistic nature, Ironside is brought around and even made a Knight of the Round Table.

Furthermore, Gawain is also known as the Red Knight for a brief time in Perlesvaus, and Galahad is called by this name in the Lancelot-Grail cycle. In Chrétien de Troyes' story Yvain, the Knight of the Lion, the red knight Esclados guards a mystical fountain, and is defeated by Ywain.

In the 1998 animated film Quest for Camelot, The Red Knight is given the name Sir Ruber (voiced by Gary Oldman, and is portrayed as a power-hungry kleptomaniac attempting to claim Excalibur for himself.

Lewes Castle

Lewes Castle

Lewes Castle stands at the highest point of Lewes, East Sussex, England on an artificial mound constructed with chalk blocks. It was originally called Bray Castle.

The first fortification on the site was a wooden keep, later converted to stone. It is unusual for a motte and bailey construction in that it has two mottes. It is one of only two such remaining in the country, the other being Lincoln. The Barbican is a particularly fine example of its type. It was built in 1069 by William de Warenne, 1st Earl of Surrey, the brother-in-Law of William the Conqueror. William de Warenne and his descendants also had estates and built castles in Reigate, Surrey (Reigate Castle) and in Yorkshire (Sandal Castle and Conisbrough Castle). When the last of the Warennes John, the 7th Earl died without issue in 1347, he was buried in Lewes Priory. His title passed to his nephew Richard Fitzalan who was also Earl of Arundel.

The castle has been owned by Sussex Past, an operational name for the Sussex Archaeological Society, since 1846. Tickets are sold from Barbican House which is just opposite the entrance gate, and include access to the Barbican House Museum of Sussex archaeology and the Town Model, both located there. Barbican House also has a gift shop, bookshop and library for members of the archaeological society. Various events take place at the castle, including two plays annually, children's parties and weddings. It is a prominent feature of the town, situated close to the High Street and visible from much of the surrounding residential areas.The castle is currently open to visitors.

Dover Castle

The Gatehouse at Dover Castle

Dover Castle known as ‘The Key to England’ has over 2000 Years of History, from an Iron Age fort, Roman lighthouse and Saxon church to the Castle that is seen today with the massive Great Tower built by Henry II.

Dover Castle is one of the greatest and most famous of European fortresses, its position as a frontier defence ensuring it an important place in British history. Dover Castle strategically sited, guarding the nearest landing point to mainland Europe, made it an emphatic statement of medieval royal power, highly visible across the Straits of Dover. Its unbroken active service as a castle and fortress stretches over more than nine centuries, from the invasion of William the Conqueror to the age of the nuclear missile, from the autumn of 1066 to 1958.

Dover Castle

Dover Castle

Dover Castle is a medieval castle in the town of the same name in the English county of Kent. It was founded in the 12th century and has been described as the "Key to England" due to its defensive significance throughout history. It is the largest castle in England. Originally the site may have been fortified with earthworks in the Iron Age or earlier, before the Romans invaded in AD43. This is suggested on the basis of the unusual pattern of the earthworks which does not seem to be a perfect fit for the medieval castle, although archaeological excavation at the Castle has found no evidence of prehistoric activity.

After the Battle of Hastings in October 1066, William the Conqueror and his forces marched to Westminster Abbey for his coronation. They took a roundabout route via Romney, Dover, Canterbury, Surrey and Berkshire. From the Cinque Ports foundation in 1050, Dover has always been a chief member—it may also have been this that first attracted William's attention, and got Kent the motto of Invicta. In the words of William of Poitiers: "Then he marched to Dover, which had been reported impregnable and held by a large force. The English, stricken with fear at his approach had confidence neither in their ramparts nor in the numbers of their troops" ... While the inhabitants were preparing to surrender unconditionally, the Normans, greedy for money, set the castle on fire and the great part of it was soon enveloped in flames... William then paid for the repair and having taken possession of the castle, the Duke spent eight days adding new fortifications to it.

The Fortress of Minas Morgul

The Fortress of Minas Morgul

A Fantasy Creation based on reality; A Minor Lair of Evil Southwest of Mordor

Fairy Tales May Come True

Fairy Tales May Come True, They Can Happen To You..

On the battlements, blessèd battlements,
Standing on the battlements of immortality;
O the countless multitudes soon our eyes shall see!
Standing on the battlements of immortality.

Battlements (or crenellation) are the parapets of towers or walls with indentations or openings (embrasures or crenelles) alternating with solid projections. Merlons are the saw-tooth effect or the "teeth" of the battlements.

Battle Abbey at Midnight

Battle Abbey at Midnight

On October 14, 1066, a Norman duke known as William the Conqueror defeated King Harold at the Battle of Hastings. This decisive victory brought the Saxon period of English history to an end and initiated the Norman rule of England. The Norman Conquest would bring many changes to the island, including a new French style of Romanesque architecture and many new churches and monasteries all over the country. After the Battle of Hastings, William went on to conquer other important strongholds further north, such as London and York. But in 1070, his attention returned to the battlefield where it all began when, pressured by the Pope, he founded a Benedictine abbey to atone for the thousands of deaths on that field. The new foundation was dedicated to St. Martin, but it has been known almost ever since as Battle Abbey.
Battle Abbey was built right on the battlefield, with the church’s altar positioned over the site where King Harold fell. Constructed in the Norman Romanesque style, with a round apse and ambulatory, the church was completed in 1094. It was consecrated by the Archbishop of Canterbury in the presence of the Conqueror’s son, William Rufus. The abbey was colonized by four Benedictine monks from Marmoutier monastery near Tours, France. Construction on the remaining abbey buildings, such as the dormitory and cloister, continued throughout the 12th and 13th centuries. The church was extended to the east in the 13th century. In the 14th century, French raids during the Hundred Years’ War required the abbey to improve its defenses. This included rebuilding the gatehouse to the towering edifice that still stands today, beginning in 1338. Later in the same century, the abbey was struck by the Black Death. More than a dozen monks succumbed to the plague and the monastery’s incomes suffered. Battle Abbey was dissolved on May 27, 1538, and the property was given to Sir Anthony Browne. The new owner promptly destroyed the church, chapter house and cloisters, and renovated the abbot’s house into a country mansion. In later centuries the property fell into decline, but it was restored by the duke and dutchess of Cleveland, who lived here from 1857 to 1901. Battle Abbey School was founded in the abbot’s house after World War I. Both the battlefield and abbey were purchased by the nation in 1972 and the site is now administered by English Heritage.

The Castle Lion

The Castle Lion

Lions have been represented figuratively since the Stone Age. Ice age hunters depicted the lion this way in the cultural stage of the Aurignacian more than 30,000 years ago by showing the lionesses of a pride hunting in the same manner as contemporary lions. After that it frequently was the lioness who was represented as the protector and chief warrior of a culture. An early Naqada tomb painting that predates Egyptian culture in northern Africa shows two rampant lions flanking a figure that may be interpreted as a deity.
Sphinx of Egyptian pharaoh Hatshepsut - with unusual rounded ears and ruff that extend strong leonine features to the head of the statue, 1503-1482 BC

Lions also play a role in numerous later ancient cultures. In Ancient Egypt the pharaoh sometimes was represented as the sphinx, a lioness with a human head. The best known representation of this type is the Great Sphinx of Giza. From the earliest written human records, the lioness was recognized as the fierce hunter of the formidable species in Ancient Egyptian and African cultures and was dominant in the pantheons of these ancient cultures as representing warriors and protectors of the country. Egyptian mythology featured images of lionesses such as Bast and Sekhmet from their pantheon. Male rulers might be associated with the son of the goddess, such as Maahes. While the Egyptians ruled over Nubia they documented the worship of Dedun as a god of wealth and prosperity, who was said to be the son of the Nubian lioness deity, although they did not incorporate that deity into their own pantheon. The ancient Egyptians also created naturalistic portrayals of lions as symbols of protection and royal power in addition to the images of mythical sphinxes.

In the near east a long line of cultures used the motif of Lions as both a symbol of primal and royal power. The earliest examples come from Sumer in Mesopotamia. This usage continued throughout the later cultures of the Hittites, Babylonians, Assyrians, Persians and early Islamic cultures like the Umayyads and Abbassids.

In antiquity, lions were common along the southern coast of the Mediterranean, as well as in Greece and the Middle East. In Greek mythology a lion appears in a variety of functions. The Lion Gate of Mycenae features two rampant lionesses who flank a central column representing the major deity of this early Greek culture that dates to the second millennium BC. In later classical Greek mythology, the Nemean Lion was portrayed as a people-eating beast; killing it was one of the twelve tasks assigned to Heracles. In the story of Androcles, one of Aesop's fables, the hero, a runaway slave, pulls a thorn from a lion's paw; when he is later thrown to the lions as punishment for escaping, the lion recognizes him once again and refuses to kill the man. According to the Book of Genesis of the Hebrew Bible, the Israelite Tribe of Judah had the Lion of Judah as its symbol.

The characteristic of the lion as the "king of the jungle" goes back to the influence of The Physiologus, an early Christian book about animal symbolism which spread into many cultures and generally had great influence in Western culture. First written in Greek in the second century AD, the book was translated into Latin in about 400 AD, next into Ethiopic and Syriac, then into many European and Middle-Eastern languages. Many illuminated manuscript copies such as the Bern Physiologus survive. It retained its influence over ideas of the "meaning" of animals in Europe for over a thousand years. It was a predecessor of bestiaries (books of beasts). Medieval poetical literature is full of allusions that can be traced to the Physiologus tradition; the text also exerted great influence on the symbolism of medieval ecclesiastical art.
The winged lion of Mark the Evangelist is the national emblem and landmark of Venice

The royal symbolism of the lion was taken up repeatedly in later history, in order to claim power, for example by Henry the Lion. The ongoing fascination is apparent today by the diversity of coats of arms on which lions are shown in various colours and forms.

Many images from ancient times depict lionesses as the fierce warrior protecting their culture. Since in certain views lionesses seem to have a ruff, often the only clue to this difference between the genders is the lack of a massive mane. When no mane is apparent, the image often is described as a panther or leopard among cultures without familiarity with the nature of lion social organization and hunting strategies for prides. In literary and historical references, note of a figure or an image as depicting a lion may relate to either gender without being specific, and be easily misunderstood, thereby then being drawn with a mane since it is so distinctive.

Images of lions appears on many flags, coats of arms, and emblems. For example, it symbolises the Sinhalese people (Sinhalese Singha = Lion). Local folklore tells of Prince Vijaya, the first of the Sinhalese kings, as being the son of Sinhabahu, who was fathered by a lion. See history of Sri Lanka. Lions are recurring symbols in the coat of arms of royalty and chivalry, particularly in the UK, where the lion is also a national symbol of the British people, and in Ethiopia, where it is a symbol of the Monarchy.

The Castle Cemetery

The Old Crypt at The Castle Cemetery

The castle cemetery is a classic upright stone burial ground with many large crypts that house the remains of the rich elite from the castle's past. When you enter the grounds you are amazed at the age and detail of many of the gravestones and crypts. However one crypt stands out above them all.
There is no name inscribed upon the top beam like all of the other crypts, and it is darkened as if it had been exposed to fire. The legends are sketchy and vary depending on who you talk to. But the basics of the crypt legends go like this. Inside the crypt lies an undead body of a real honest to goodness blood sucking creature of the night. He was a wealthy man who fell ill after a trip to Romania and soon after returning to the castle he died of consumption. He was buried in the crypt on the southern hillside of the Cemetery, and within a week strange things began to happen. Dead bodies would be found in the grounds that surrounded the graveyard. Their blood had been drained and there were the classic teeth marks on the neck. It was the maintenance man who lived on the grounds who found out the evil creatures secret and the attacked and burned the crypt during the daylight to rid the castle of this evil abomination. The family name was scraped from the tomb stonework as a warning to all who came near. Its doors were chained and locked shut never to be opened again. But look! The door is open and a shadowy figure moves within.....................

Bridge to Arundel

Bridge to Arundel

There are several theories about the meaning of the name 'Arundel'. One is that the upper reaches of the Arun, away from the sea, was once known as the Arnus, from the Brythonic word Arno, meaning run or go. So Arundel would mean Arno-dell or the dell of the flowing river. Another theory is that due to the preponderance of hoarhound on the slopes of the Arun near the town, Arundel would mean hoarhound-dell. A third explanation is that the town takes its name from the French word for swallow, hirondelle, a bird which is on the town's crest. The name was spelled Arundell until 1733, when the final l was dropped. A new theory (Theo Vennemann) relates the 'Arun' part to Basque aran 'valley' (substratic reduplication or tautology), like the placename Arendal in Norway and Sweden. However, it seems rather more likely that the Scandinavian placenames derive from Old Norse arnardalr 'eagle dell' or arindalr 'dwelling dell'. Similarly, the name of Arundel could just as well derive from Old English earndæl or ærndæl, meaning 'eagle dell' and 'dwelling dell' respectively

Moonlight on the Chapel Ruins

Moonlight on the Chapel Ruins

Corfe Castle is a village and a parish in Dorset whose skyline is dominated by the skeletal remains of Corfe Castle, which is the essence of the village. The civil parish faces both the English Channel and Poole Harbour, which includes part of the sandy heathland to the north of the castle, and the Jurassic Coast to the South.

There is evidence in the village of a civilization that existed in 6000 BC; as well as Celtic habitation circa 1300 BC; and of course, the Romans circa AD 50. There is a legend which Tomas Hardy recorded concerning the disappearance of an entire Roman legion, with of course, only its ghost remaining; leading to the conclusion that a massive battle must have taken place between the Celts and the Romans which later resulted in the demise of the Celts. Early in the fifth century, after the Romans left, the Vikings and the Saxons occupied this area until AD 1090 when the Norman Conquest occurred. Today, as you leave Corfe Castle towards Church Knowle village, you may want to stop at Cromwell's Battery, also known as The Rings. This fortification, or Battery, was a ring and bailey castle. The higher, inner ring was a stronghold. The bailey was the storage and working area surrounded by fences. The rings are believed to be the site of a siege castle built by King Stephen in 1139 AD in an unsuccessful attempt to regain control of Corfe Castle when he claimed the throne form the House of Blois and Civil War ensued.

Leeds Castle Gate House

Leeds Castle Gate House

Leeds Castle consists of two huge piles of buildings which with a strong gate-house and barbican form four distinct forts, capable of separate defence should any one or other fall into the hands of an enemy. Three causeways, each with its drawbridge, gate, and portcullis, lead to the smallest island or inner barbican, a fortified mill contributing to the defences. A stone bridge connects this island with the main island. There stands the Constable's Tower, and a stone wall surrounds the island and within is the modern mansion. The Maiden's Tower and the Water Tower defend the island on the south. A two-storeyed building on arches now connects the main island with the Tower of the Gloriette, which has a curious old bell with the Virgin and Child, St. George and the Dragon, and the Crucifixion depicted on it, and an ancient clock.

The Smuggler's Den

The Smuggler's Den

Hold it there laddie. There's luggers hoverin' at the Cove and the gobblers are out.... A Stinkibus is better than a noose I says. Us smugsmiths need to know that much to save our skin.... Look quick laddie! There's a cutter behind! Row for your life or it's the devil for both of us!"

Smugglers, also known as owlers, free traders and smugsmiths, were the scourge of the coastline 300 years ago. Matters got way out of hand in the 18th Century, when taxes were upped in a bid to fund foreign wars. Corruption cropped up on both sides of the law, with all kinds of chicanery resulting. Pitched battles became common scenes on the English coast, and conscientious officers often faced insuperable odds, with country folk closing ranks to protect the 'smugsmiths'. As it was, entire villages often became involved in the trade - the folk from the Scilly Isles nigh on depended on it. However, there were times when gangs went too far even for their own men. Whilst some smugglers might claim that they were just trying to make a living within the spirit of free trade, contraband goods attracted their fair share of rogues and rascals too

At Camp By Warwick Castle

At Camp By Warwick Castle

The reign of Edward III saw the great Chivalric Age and Warwick was the scene of many tournaments, feasts, banquets and processions. History also saw the start of the Hundred Years War between England and France. Thomas de Beauchamp, 11th Earl of Warwick, commanded troops at the battle of Crecy and Poitiers. The glorious Age of Chivalry was also marred by the Black Death and the Peasants Revolt (the first of all revolutions). Richard de Beauchamp, the 13th Earl of Warwick, served in France as Captain of Calais and supervised the trial of Joan of Arc.

Richard Neville, the 16th Earl of Warwick, was a Yorkist, and when he helped Edward IV the son of the Duke of York, to become king he became very powerful. He then argued with the King and was branded a traitor. Warwick then changes allegiances and turns Lancastrian when he defeats Edward IV and restores Henry VI to power! He is given the name 'Warwick the Kingmaker'. Warwick the Kingmaker loses his life at the Battle of Barnet when Edward IV defeats and kills him. The following Earls of Warwick are branded as traitors and executed, temporarily ending the title of the Earl of Warwick...

Richard III took ownership of Warwick Castle until he fell in the Battle of Bosworth Field to Henry Tudor. The Tudor Kings also keep Warwick Castle to themselves ensuring the power and influence of the nobility is contained!

The History of Warwick castle enters another period of murder, executions, treachery and intrigue starting with the short reign of King Henry VIII's son Edward V. John Dudley is created the Earl of Warwick, Chancellor of England and Duke of Northumberland which makes him the most powerful noble in England. The young King was sick and Dudley realises that if the King dies, and either of his sisters take the crown, that Dudley will lose his power and probably his head. John Dudley plots with the Earl of Suffolk and arranges the marriage of his son, Guildford Dudley, to the Suffolk's daughter, Lady Jane Grey. The young king dies and Lady Jane Grey, John Dudley's daughter-in-law is pronounced Queen of England. She only reigns for nine days and the rightful Queen Mary takes the crown. The powerful John Dudley, Duke of Northumberland, was beheaded for treason. The earldom of Warwick is granted to the Rich family but Warwick Castle is passed to Sir Fulke Greville. A poet and courtier Sir Fulke Greville was murdered and his ghost is said to haunt Warwick Castle.

Medieval School Gate

Medieval School Gate

Medieval Education in England was the preserve of the rich. Education in Medieval England had to be paid for and medieval peasants could not have hoped to have afforded the fees. When William I conquered England in 1066 at the Battle of Hastings, he took over a country where very few were educated – including the wealthy. The most educated people were those who worked in the church but many who worked in the monasteries had taken a vow of isolation and their work remained isolated with them.

As Medieval England developed so did the need for a more educated population  - especially in the developing world of merchant trade. Important trading towns set up what became known as grammar schools and it was not unusual for a wealthy local merchant to have funded such a school. Latin grammar formed a major part of the daily curriculum – hence the title of the schools. Latin was also the language used by merchants as they traded in Europe. Very few Dutch merchants spoke English – but they could speak Latin. Very few English merchants spoke Dutch or Spanish, but they could speak Latin. Hence why European merchants used the language. Any merchant who wished to trade in Europe effectively could not have hoped to have done so without knowledge of Latin. These merchants ensured the survival of their firms by ensuring that their sons were equally conversant in the language – hence the establishment of grammar schools.

All lessons taught in a grammar school were in Latin. Lessons were taught in a way that boys had to learn information off by heart. Whether they understood what they had learned was a separate issue! Books were extremely expensive in Medieval England and no school could hope to kit out their pupils with books.

By 1500, many large towns had a grammar school. One of the oldest was in the important market town of Maidstone in Kent. Schools then were very small. Many had just one room for all the boys and one teacher who invariably had a religious background. The teacher would teach the older boys who were then responsible for teaching the younger ones.

Lessons frequently started at sunrise and finished at sunset. This meant that in the spring/summer months, school could last for many hours. The opposite was true for the winter. Discipline was very strict. Mistakes in lessons were punished with the birch (or the threat of it) In theory pupils would never make the same mistake again after being birched, as the memory of the pain inflicted was too strong.

For those who excelled at a grammar school, university beckoned. Medieval England saw the founding of both Oxford and Cambridge Universities. Both universities were renowned seats of learning – though both universities had a reputation for exuberant student behaviour at this time.

The sons of the peasants could only be educated if the lord of the manor had given his permission. Any family caught having a son educated without permission was heavily fined. Historians today feel that this policy was simply an extension of those in authority trying to keep peasants in their place, as an educated peasant/villein might prove to be a threat to his master as he might start to question the way things were done.

Very few girls went to what could be describes as a school. Girls from noble families were taught at home or in the house of another nobleman. Some girls from rich families went abroad to be educated. Regardless of where they went, the basis of their education was the same – how to keep a household going so that their husband was well kept. Girls might learn to play a musical instrument and to sing. But the philosophy of their education remained the same – how to keep a successful household for your husband.

The Keep at Corfe Castle

The Keep at Corfe Castle

Corfe Castle has dominated the skyline of the Isle of Purbeck for the past thousand years. From its inception, it was designed to protect from invasion from the coast, with its passage through the Purbeck Hills from Swanage to Wareham. Corfe Castle was a ring and bailey castle built in early Norman times during the era of William the Conqueror. Prior to the Normans, there was a fortification on this site, and there may have been a Roman military presence here as well. William the Conqueror rebuilt the fortification with stone to insure its durability for use as a royal fortress. (Purbeck Stone is considered the finest limestone in England). In the 13th century King John improved the castle defences and also erected a hall, a chapel and some domestic buildings. Following that, Henry III had additional walls, towers and gatehouses constructed.

Ironically, although fortified to be impregnable, the skeletal ruins that stand today were destroyed from within. This fascinating ruin, which attracts millions of visitors, was caused by a "turncoat" during the civil war, who gave entry into the castle from the inside, thereby allowing Cromwell's army to enter the castle to destroy everything in their path. Today, the skeletal remains reveal evidence of a stronghold that predated the Norman Conquest, and the site of the assassination of Edward the Martyr in March 978. The surviving structure of the later castle dates to the 11th century.

Cromwell's army fought the most remarkable Lady Bankes, a Royalist, who cared for the castle while her husband, Sir John was called away by Charles I, earning her the name "Brave Dame Mary" as well as the respect of the Parliamentary commander; who was so impressed with her courage that he allowed her to leave the castle with her garrison and the keys to the castle once the Roundheads finally persuaded her to surrender.

Door to The Monastery Garden

Door to The Monastery Garden

St Benedict, the founder of the Benedictine monastic order, more than any man, inspired the cloister life of the sixth century in Western Europe. He at once ordered that “ all the necessaries “ for the support of monks should be supplied within the walls, and among these “necessaries” water and gardens stood in the first rank: of course these gardens were for herbs and vegetables. We can only guess how far the establishments founded by St. Benedict himself, and especially the mother-cloister, were able to comply with his demands. The mention of a tower, and a portico, where St. Benedict lived with his pupils, makes us think of pictures of a Roman villa; but in any case the Benedictines, whose rule enjoined work in the garden, were the men who handed down the practice of horticulture right through the Middle Ages.

Those Orders which were not influenced by the Benedictine Rule, and forbade the monks to do farm work, still seem to have thought a garden indispensable. The Spaniard Isidorus in his Rule makes a special point of having a garden within the cloister, attached to the wall and entered by the back door, so that the monks should be able to work there and not have occasion to go outside. There was a certain tradition in the old Roman provinces about the cultivation of the choicer kinds of fruit, and it is hard to say how long it survived the storms of the Middle Ages, whether the monks are to be connected with this tradition, or if they started afresh on their own account, as is doubtless what did actually happen in the case of the German nations farther east. It is well worth noting that in Norway even to this day none but the finest and choicest fruit-trees are found on the site of an old monastery.

Arundel Castle

Arundel Castle

Arundel Castle in Arundel, West Sussex, England is a restored medieval castle. It was founded by Roger de Montgomery on Christmas Day 1067. Roger became the first to hold the earldom of Arundel by the graces of William the Conqueror. The castle was damaged in the English Civil War and then restored in the 18th and 19th centuries. From the 11th century onward, the castle has served as a hereditary stately home and has been in the family of the Duke of Norfolk for over 400 years. It is still the principal seat of the Norfolk family.

Arundel Seen Through A Country Glade

Arundel Seen Through A Country Glade

Apart from the occasional reversion to the Crown, Arundel Castle has descended directly from 1138 to the present day, carried by female heiresses from the d'Albinis to the Fitzalans in the 13th century and then from the Fitzalans to the Howards in the 16th century and it has been the seat of the Dukes of Norfolk and their ancestors for over 850 years. From the 15th to the 17th centuries the Howards were at the forefront of English history, from the Wars of the Roses, through the Tudor period to the Civil War. Among the famous members of the Howard family are the 2nd Duke of Norfolk (1443-1524), the victor of Flodden, Lord Howard of Effingham, who with Sir Francis Drake repelled the Armada in 1588, the Earl of Surrey, the Tudor poet and courtier, and the 3rd Duke of Norfolk (1473-1554), uncle of Anne Boleyn and Catherine Howard, both of whom became wives of King Henry VIII (1491-1547).

The Bridge across the Moat at Leeds Castle

The Bridge across the Moat at Leeds Castle

The first building on the site was a Saxon manor which was replaced in 1119 by Robert de Crevecoer. In 1278 the castle was transformed in to royal palace for King Edward I when a barbican with drawbridge, gateway and portcullis was added.

During the rein of Henry VIII the castle was again transformed for his first wife Catherine of Aragon and was the place where his daughter, Elizabeth I was imprisoned before being made Queen.

The Culpeper family were resident in the castle at the time of the Civil War and because they were parliamentarian sympathizers the castle did not sustain any damage.

Set in 500 acres of parkland and beautiful gardens the renovated castle is accessed via a stone bridge across a moat. The site comprises of a medieval gatehouse, a Tudor tower, an elevated French gloriette or garden building and a two storey 19th century house extending out into the moat at the rear.

The Fort on the Hilltop at Devil's Dyke

The Fort on the Hilltop at Devil's Dyke

The Devil was angry at the conversion of Sussex, one of the last counties to be converted from Paganism, and especially at the way churches were being built in every Sussex village. So he decided to dig right through the South Downs, a range of hills along the south of Britain. He swore that he would dig all the way through the hills to let the sea flood Sussex in a single night and drown the new Christians. He started inland near the village of Poynings and dug furiously sending huge clods of earth everywhere. One became Chanctonbury hill, another Cissbury hill, another Rackham Hill and yet another Mount Caburn.

Towards midnight, the noise he was making disturbed an old woman, who looked out to see what was happening. When she realized what the Devil was doing, she lit a candle and set it on her windowsill, holding up a metal sieve in front of it to create a dimly glowing globe. The Devil could barely believe that the sun had already risen, but the old woman had woken her rooster who let out a loud crowing and Satan fled believing that the morning had already come. Some say, that as he fled out over the English Channel, a great lump of earth fell from his cloven hoof, and that became the Isle of Wight; others say that he bounded northwards into Surrey, where his heavy landing formed the hollow called the Devil's Punch Bowl.

Devil's Dyke is a V-shaped valley on the South Downs Way in southern England, near Brighton and Hove. It is part of the Southern England Chalk Formation. Devil's Dyke is on the way to Brighton and is a big hill at the side of the road. It is a misconception common amongst local residents of Brighton that the valley was formed by some kind of glacial action, the myth of a 'glacier' being a misunderstanding of accounts such as this one from the Encyclopaedia of Brighton by Timothy Carder (1990):
 "In reality the 300-foot-deep valley was carved by tremendous amounts of water running off the Downs during the last Ice Age when large amounts of snow thawed and the frozen chalk prevented any further absorption; erosion was aided by the freeze-thaw cycle and the valley was deepened by the 'sludging' of the saturated chalk."
The Devil's Dyke V-shaped dry valley is the result of solifluction and river erosion. More than fourteen thousand years ago, the area experienced an intensely cold climate (but not glacial conditions). Snowfields capped the South Downs. Permafrost conditions meant that the chalk was permanently frozen. In summer, the snowfields melted and saturated the top layer of soil, because the water could not permeate the frozen chalk underneath. Waterlogged material situated above the permafrost slid down the gradient, removing material by friction, exposing deeper layers of frozen chalk. When the Ice Age ended, the snowfields covering the South Downs melted, and rivers formed across Sussex. The Devil's Dyke valley was completed by one such river.
The hills surrounding the valley offer views of the South Downs, The Weald, and – on a clear day – the Isle of Wight. It is the site of ramparts, all that remain of an Iron Age hillfort.

Warwick Castle on the Avon

Warwick Castle on the Avon

 Avon is an anglicisation of the Welsh word 'afon' for river. So "River Avon" literally means "River River"!

As there are other River Avons in England, the river that passes through Warwickshire is known as the Avon, Warwickshire Avon or Shakespeare's Avon.
  
The source of the Avon is near the village of Welford in Northamptonshire, it then flows 85 miles in a south-westerly direction until it joins the River Severn at Tewkesbury. It has a catchment area of 1,032 square miles. The river passes through many towns and villages which have developed along its banks, these include Welford, Rugby, Wolston, Leamington Spa, Warwick, Stratford-upon-Avon, Welford-on-Avon, Bidford-on-Avon, Evesham, Pershore, and finally Tewkesbury. Along its course the river forms part of the border between Northamptonshire and Leicestershire, and it has been dammed to create the Stanford Reservoir. Its tributaries include the Rivers Leam, Stour, Sowe, Dene, Arrow, Swift, Alne, Isbourne, Sherbourne and Swilgate as well as many minor streams and brooks.
  
Enjoying the river - throughout Warwickshire there are many places where you can enjoy the beauty of the River Avon, be this by rowing boat, canal boat or simply a walk along its banks.

In the Village at Arundel

In the Village at Arundel

Arundel is a market town and civil parish in the South Downs of West Sussex in the south of England. It lies 49 miles (79 km) south southwest of London, 18 miles (29 km) west of Brighton, and 10 miles (16 km) east of the county town of Chichester. Other nearby towns include Worthing east southeast, Littlehampton to the south and Bognor Regis to the southwest. The River Arun runs through the western side of the town.

Arundel was one of the boroughs reformed by the Municipal Reform Act 1835. In 1974 it became part of the Arun district, and now is a civil parish with a town council.
Arundel is home to Arundel Cathedral, seat of the Bishop of Arundel and Brighton. The town also has its own cricket ground at the castle, often cited as being one of the country's most picturesque. It hosts Sussex County Cricket Club for a number of games each season and is also the venue for the traditional season curtain-raiser between Lavinia Duchess of Norfolk's XI and the champion county. Every summer it hosts the touring country.

On 6 July 2004, Arundel was granted Fairtrade Town status.

People born in Arundel are known locally as Mullets, due to the presence of Mullet in the River Arun.

Arundel is home to one of the oldest Scout Groups in the world. 1st Arundel (Earl of Arundel's Own) Scout Group was formed in 1908 only a few weeks after Scouting began. Based in its current HQ in Green Lane Close, it has active sections of Beaver Scouts, Cub Scouts and Scouts.

A Cathedral Wall Plaque

Cathedral Wall Plaque

Gothic art evolved from Romanesque art and lasted from the mid-12th century to as late as the end of the 16th century in some areas. The term Gothic was coined by classicizing Italian writers of the Renaissance, who attributed the invention (and what to them was the non-classical ugliness) of medieval architecture to the barbarian Gothic tribes that had destroyed the Roman Empire and its classical culture in the 5th century Ad. The term retained its derogatory overtones until the 19th century, at which time a positive critical revaluation of Gothic architecture took place. Although modern scholars have long realized that Gothic art has nothing in truth to do with the Goths, the term Gothic remains a standard one in the study of art history.
Gothic sculpture was closely tied to architecture, since it was used primarily to decorate the exteriors of cathedrals and other religious buildings. The earliest Gothic sculptures were stone figures of saints and the Holy Family used to decorate the doorways, or portals, of cathedrals in France and elsewhere. The sculptures on the Royal Portal of Chartres Cathedral (c. 1145-55) were little changed from their Romanesque predecessors in their stiff, straight, simple, elongated, and hieratic forms. But during the later 12th and the early 13th centuries sculptures became more relaxed and naturalistic in treatment, a trend that culminated in the sculptural decorations of the Reims Cathedral (c. 1240). These figures, while retaining the dignity and monumentality of their predecessors, have individualized faces and figures, as well as full, flowing draperies and natural poses and gestures, and they display a classical poise that suggests an awareness of antique Roman models on the part of their creators. Early Gothic masons also began to observe such natural forms as plants more closely, as is evident in the realistically carven clusters of leaves that adorn the capitals of columns.
Monumental sculptures assumed an increasingly prominent role during the High and late Gothic periods and were placed in large numbers on the facades of cathedrals, often in their own niches. In the 14th century, Gothic sculpture became more refined and elegant and acquired a mannered daintiness in its elaborate and finicky drapery. The elegant and somewhat artificial prettiness of this style was widely disseminated throughout Europe in sculpture, painting, and manuscript illumination during the 14th century and became known as the International Gothic style. An opposite trend at this time was that of an intensified realism, as displayed in French tomb sculptures and in the vigorous and dramatic works of the foremost late Gothic sculptor, Claus Sluter. Gothic sculpture evolved into the more technically advanced and classicistic Renaissance style in Italy during the 14th and early 15th centuries but persisted until somewhat later in northern Europe.
Gothic painting followed the same stylistic evolution as did sculpture; from stiff, simple, hieratic forms toward more relaxed and natural ones. Its scale grew large only in the early 14th century, when it began to be used in decorating the retable (ornamental panel behind an altar). Such paintings usually featured scenes and figures from the New Testament, particularly of the Passion of Christ and the Virgin Mary. These paintings display an emphasis on flowing, curving lines, minute detail, and refined decoration, and gold was often applied to the panel as background colour. Compositions became more complex as time went on, and painters began to seek means of depicting spatial depth in their pictures, a search that eventually led to the mastery of perspective in the early years of the Italian Renaissance. In late Gothic painting of the 14th and 15th centuries secular subjects such as hunting scenes, chivalric themes, and depictions of historical events also appeared. Both religious and secular subjects were depicted in manuscript illuminations--i.e., the pictorial embellishment of handwritten books. This was a major form of artistic production during the Gothic period and reached its peak in France during the 14th century. The calendar illustrations in the Très Riches Heures du duc de Berry (c. 1416) by the Limburg brothers, who worked at the court of Jean de France, duc de Berry, are perhaps the most eloquent statements of the International Gothic style as well as the best known of all manuscript illuminations


On Gargoyles, 1909 — G. K. Chesterton,
“Alone at some distance from the wasting walls of a disused abbey I found half sunken in the grass the grey and goggle-eyed visage of one of those graven monsters that made the ornamental water-spouts in the cathedrals of the Middle Ages. It lay there, scoured by ancient rains or striped by recent fungus, but still looking like the head of some huge dragon slain by a primeval hero. And as I looked at it, I thought of the meaning of the grotesque, and passed into some symbolic reverie of the three great stages of art.
The Old Greeks summoned godlike things to worship their god. The medieval Christians summoned all things to worship theirs, dwarfs and pelicans, monkeys and madmen. The modern realists summon all these million creatures to worship their god; and then have no god for them to worship. Paganism was in art a pure beauty; that was the dawn. Christianity was a beauty created by controlling a million monsters of ugliness; and that in my belief was the zenith and the noon. Modern art and science practically mean having the million monsters and being unable to control them; and I will venture to call that the disruption and the decay.”

Starlings Gather on the Ancient Spire

Starlings Gather on the Ancient Spire

A spire is a tapering conical or pyramidal structure on the top of a building, particularly a church tower. Etymologically, the word is derived from the Old English word spir, meaning a sprout, shoot, or stalk of grass.
Symbolically, spires have two functions. The first is to proclaim a martial power. A spire, with its reminiscence of the spear point, gives the impression of strength. The second is to reach up toward the skies.[citation needed] The celestial and hopeful gesture of the spire is one reason for its association with religious buildings.[citation needed] A spire on a church or cathedral is not just a symbol of piety, but is often seen as a symbol of the wealth and prestige of the order, or patron who commissioned the building. As an architectural ornament, spires are most consistently found on Christian churches, where they replace the steeple. Although any denomination may choose to use a spire instead of a steeple, the lack of a cross on the structure is more common in Roman Catholic and other pre-Reformation churches. The battlements of cathedrals featured multiple spires in the Gothic style (in imitation of the secular military fortress).


Starlings in the New World: The year was 1890 when an eccentric drug manufacturer named Eugene Schieffelin entered New York City's Central Park and released some 60 European starlings he had imported from England. In 1891 he loosed 40 more. Schieffelin's motives were as romantic as they were ill fated: he hoped to introduce into North America every bird mentioned by Shakespeare.Skylarks and song thrushes failed to thrive, but the enormity of his success with starlings continues to haunt us. This is worth observing as an object lesson in how even noble intentions can lead to disaster when humanity meddles with nature.
Today the starling is ubiquitous, with its purple and green iridescent plumage and its rasping, insistent call. It has distinguished itself as one of the costliest and most noxious birds on our continent.
Roosting in hordes of up to a million, starlings can devour vast stores of seed and fruit, offsetting whatever benefit they confer by eating insects. In a single day, a cloud of omnivorous starlings can gobble up 20 tons of potatoes. What they don't eat they defile with droppings. They are linked to numerous diseases, including histoplasmosis, a fungal lung ailment that afflicts agricultural workers; toxoplasmosis, especially dangerous to pregnant women, and Newcastle disease, which kills poultry. Starlings bully several native species, often rudely evicting bluebirds and woodpeckers.
In 1960 a Lockheed Electra plummeted seconds after taking off from Logan Airport in Boston, killing 62 people. Some 10,000 starlings had flown straight into the plane, crippling its engines. Any bird in the wrong place can pose such a danger, but it is the ever-present starling that pilots fret over the most.
As usual in the history of man's importation of species across oceans and continents, Schieffelin was not thinking of long-term consequences. For the first six years after he released his birds they rarely strayed beyond Manhattan. The first nesting pair, discovered in the eaves of the Museum of Natural History, across the street from Central Park, inspired jubilation.
Once the starlings began to spread, though, their numbers and range soon exploded. They were able to adapt to climates as varied as Alaska's and Florida's; they were willing and able to eat anything; and they reproduced with startling vigor. ''Starlings,'' one ornithologist wrote, ''do nothing in moderation.''

The Ancient God Pan Plays His Pipes In The Castle Garden

The Ancient Nature God Pan Plays His Pipes In The Castle Garden

PAN is the god of shepherds and flocks, of mountain wilds, hunting and rustic music. He wanders the hills and mountains of Arkadia playing his pan-pipes and chasing Nymphs. His unseen presence arouses feelings of panic in men passing through the remote, lonely places of the wilds.

The god is a lover of nymphs, who commonly flee from his advances. Syrinx ran and was transformed into a clump of reeds, out of which the god crafted his famous pan-pipes. Pitys escaped and was turned into a mountain fir, the god's sacred tree. Ekho spurned his advances and fading away left behind only her voice to repeat forever the mountain cries of the god.

Pan is depicted as a man with the horns, legs and tail of a goat, and with thick beard, snub nose and pointed ears. He often appears in the retinue of Dionysos alongside the other rustic gods. Greeks in the classical age associated his name with the word pan meaning "all". However, it true origin lies in an old Arkadian word for rustic.

Pan is frequently identified with other similar rustic gods such as Aristaios, the shepherd-god of northern Greece, who like Pan was titled both Agreus (the hunter) and Nomios (the shepherd); as well as with the pipe-playing Phrygian satyr Marsyas; and Aigipan, the goat-fish god of the constellation Capricorn. Sometimes Pan was multiplied into a host of Panes, or a triad named Agreus, Nomios, and Phorbas.

A Lookout Point

A Lookout Point

One of many hilltop sites (this one nested within the South Downs in Sussex) where large beacon fires could be lit at the first sign of invading ships crossing the channel. These beacons were easily spied from castle towers many miles away and the signals could be relayed across the country so that reinforcements could be amassed and sent to destroy the invaders before they reached populated areas.


This stunning hilltop area has been a home to man for thousands of years. On top of the hill are burial mounds dating back to the Bronze and Saxon ages.

Wildlife has also made its home here and Blackcap is a great place to come and see the plants and animals that populate the area. Flowers such as the musk orchid, yellow rockrose, marjoram and honeysuckle can all be seen here, along with countless other plant species all of which support a huge range of insect, bird and mammal life.

The South Downs are characterised by rolling chalk downs, deep dry valleys, steep scarp slopes with wide views over wooded farmland of the Sussex Weald and glimpses of shimmering sea. The area has been inhabited by man since earliest times, as shown by hill-forts, tumuli and cross-dykes, while the South Downs Way itself was probably an important trade route in the Bronze Age.

The well-loved open chalk landscape, with its variety of wild flowers and butterflies, is a result of sheep and cattle grazing over the centuries.

The woodland here is equally varied. Coppiced hazel fringes the paths and the diversity of trees in Aschombe Bottom means a dazzling display of autumnal colours. Look out for the attractive buckthorn tree with its yellow autumnal leaves and dark purple-black berries.

The Hidden Chateau

The Hidden Chateau

Waddesdon Manor; Buckinghamshire: Descended from the Austrian branch of the Rothschild family, Baron Ferdinand, came to England in 1859 when he was just 20 years old. Following the tragic death of his new young wife during childbirth, he never remarried, but decided to look around for a suitable place to settle in England. Already living in Buckinghamshire, close to several members of his family, Ferdinand bought 3000 acres of land from the Duke of Marlborough in 1874 with the intention of erecting a property to house his growing collection of art treasures. Never intended as a home, Waddesdon Manor was designed as a pleasurable showpiece where specially invited guests could share in Ferdinand's passion for 18th century French art.

The massive building project took 15 years to complete, but the results were breathtaking both externally and internally. Designed by a French architect, Gabriel-Hippolyte Destailleur, the 19th century brick and stone cladding was used to create a stunning Renaissance style chateau, imaginatively fitted out with authentic French interiors. Wood panelling, screens and fireplaces are just some of the 'second-hand' materials, salvaged from French palaces and old Parisian houses being demolished, that were used to create the beautiful rooms at Waddesdon Manor.

Having installed his priceless collections in their perfect setting, Baron Ferdinand de Rothschild was now able to entertain selected groups of people who would appreciate the finery on display, and could indulge in the luxury of these surroundings. Regular weekend house parties were given during the 1880s and 90s, when his guests included royalty, politicians, writers and society beauties. In the absence of a long-term companion, Ferdinand's spinster sister acted as hostess at these frequent gatherings and, on his death, Waddesdon Manor was left to her. Alice's contributions include several pieces of fine porcelain from the houses of Sevres and Meissen.

In the early 1920s a Rothschild from the French arm of the family inherited the splendid manor house, and he established a stud farm at Waddesdon Manor, as well as introducing additional 18th century works of art. Ironically, the only time that this ostentatious mansion has had permanent residents was during the Second World War, when 100 child evacuees stayed with their nannies and nurses.

Battle Abbey In Moonlight

Battle Abbey In Moonlight

Battle Abbey was founded in 1070 and is an important symbol of the Norman Conquest. King Harold of England was killed in the Battle of Hastings in 1066; his remains were also butchered on the battlefield, to the point where his mistress, Edith Swanneck, recognized them only through a birthmark. The papacy later ordered the Normans to do penance for his death and the violence done to his body. Further, during the four intervening years, the Normans had marched on toe London, where William was crowned at Westminster Abbey, and then subdued many rebellions in the land. The area around York, for example, was devastated by the Normans. The Doomsday Book shows the effects of the Norman Conquest; many areas show little wealth or production.

Battle Abbey was built as an act of penance. While it was once believed that William had vowed before the Battle of Hastings to build an abbey if he were victorious, the order to begin construction was not given until 1070.

 The stone which marks she site of Harold's death. This stone marks the probable site of the high altar of the abbey church. The chapels would have radiated from the apse, whose line is marked out behind the stone. Although the monastery was built on the very spot where Harold had fallen, fatally wounded by an arrow through the eye, there is no compelling evidence that William had planned to build a monastery on that site before 1070.

The site of the battle and especially of Harold's death was not at all suitable for construction. It sloped downward toward marshland, and there was no natural water supply.

William was known for bringing many Normans over to staff his new government, and in like fashion, he also brought monks from Marmoutier in France and materials for the abbey from the continent. William generously endowed the abbey with property, and granted the abbot jurisdiction over the people and land within a 11/2 mile area around the abbey. The abbot was, therefore, exempt from the jurisdiction of the local bishop, a privilege which was not challenged until King Stephen's reign in twelfth century.

The abbey church was the first structure completed. The east end of the church was finished in 1070, while the rest was completed by 1094. The church was consecrated by the Archbishop of Canterbury. William would not live to see this event, but his son William Rufus, who died an early and tragic death, was present. Nothing remains today of the church but the outline of the apse and the stone which marks the spot of the high altar.

Abbot Gausbert was responsible for building the dormitory, which was near the remains of the reredorter, or latrine. This abbot also presided during the construction of most of the abbey church. The second Abbot, Henry, erected the stone gate tower, which became part of the much larger gatehouse. The gatehouse was built during the Hundred Years' War for added protection against raiders. The fourth abbot, Walter de Luci, rebuilt the cloister. Little remains today of this once beautiful area of the monastery. During his reign, the abbey's exemption from Episcopal jurisdiction was challenged for the second time. The Bishop of Chichester appealed to the pop, while the abbot appealed to King Stephen. The dispute was not settled until the reign of Henry II, who decided in favor of the abbot.

The abbey's royal patronage declined when Henry II's son John became king. In return for a large cash grant, he allowed the abbey to elect its own abbot. The abbey's independence was once again challenged in 1233, when Ralph Neville, Bishop of Chichester, once again claimed jurisdiction and appealed to the papacy. An agreement was reached preserving most of the abbey's independence. In the period which followed, most of the abbey's buildings were rebuilt, and other additions were constructed.

The fourteenth century brought many challenges and calamities. During the Hundred Years' War, the French raided the coasts of England, particularly the counties of Sussex and Kent. The gatehouse was constructed in 1338-1339 to aid in the area's defense, and the abbey organized the defense of the Pevensey-Romney area and led local troops against a raiding party at Wincgelsea. This gatehouse is considered one of the finest examples in England. There are battlements on all four sides, and arrow loops and round end-holes. There are two human heads in the gate passages; one is William, who smiles happily in victory, the other is King Harold,who looks for reinforcements which never came.

Many monks died in the Black Death. Like so many other monasteries, the number of monks never again rose to its pre-plague heights. In the sixteenth century, the Reformation would put an end to the abbey's successful history. Thomas Cromwell's agent, Richard Layton, said, "so beggary a house I never see, nor so filthy stuff" when he visited the abbey. The abbey's income of 800 pounds a year qualified it as one of the great houses, and it was dissolved in 1538. Henry VIII pensioned off the abbot at 100 pounds a year, and gave the abbey and its lands to Sir Anthony Browne. Browne razed the church, the chapter house, and the cloisters. He converted the abbot's house on the west range into a mansion; after World War I, it became a school, which can be seen in the background of this photo. Browne also rebuilt the guest range, supposedly as a residence for Edward VI, the youngest child of Henry VIII, and his half-sister Elizabeth. Neither of them ever lived here.

The Cloister Font

The Cloister Font

The early fonts may be divided into two types.  In the East they were generally small square or circular basons, but occasionally elongated on four sides, and so make the shape of a Greek cross.  In the West they are for the most part octagonal or circular, forming a wide shallow bason.  Their normal depth is under 3 feet ; in some cases the utmost capacity of the bason was only 15 inches.

In Cornwall there are a few interesting instances still extant of Holy Springs, possibly used as baptistries, and protected by chapels ; and the same are to be found in Monmouthshire as well as in Wales.  But the almost invariable rule in these islands seems to have been to place a font in the body of the church ; in all events this custom was universal amongst us in post-Conquest [after the Norman conquest in 1066] days.

The font itself was as a rule of stone, and it was usually lined with lead, save in some of those instances where an imprevious stone, such as granite or Purbeck marble, was used.  Wooden fonts were occasionally in use in those early days, but they were always considered irregular, and in later times uncanonical.

Prior to the reformation, a style of font ornamentation became common, and that was to depict the seven sacraments of the medieval Catholic church.  Fonts at the time were generally octagonal, so each of these sides featured an image of the sacrament, with the eighth side often carved either with the image of the penitent donor, other a depiction of Christ's crucifixion.  These fonts could also be elaborately painted in bright colors. Other subjects also could be depicted, including images of the four apostles, Christ's baptism, the Last Judgment, the martydom of a saint, Communion, Mary and child, the Trinity, and Our Lord in Glory.
Other fonts could feature heraldry, with carvings of the heraldic arms of important local patrons, especially in the 13th and 14th centuries.  For instance, the arms of Archbishop Arundel, who lived from 1397 to 1414, are carved on the font in Sittingbourne, Kent.

Some fonts had protruding edges or carvings, such as a rams head.  These may have had some practical purpose. Other fonts had kneeling benches made of wood or stone.

Unicorn Hill

Unicorn Hill

"The unicorn was white, with hoofs of silver and graceful horn of pearl. . . .  The glorious thing about him was his eye.  There was a faint bluish furrow down each side of his nose, and this led to the eye sockets, and surrounded them in a pensive shade.  The eyes, circled by this sad and beautiful darkness, were so sorrowful, lonely, gentle and nobly tragic, that they killed all other emotions except love."

The Once and Future King
T.H. White

Salisbury Cathedral

Salisbury Cathedral

Salisbury Cathedral is an elegant Gothic edifice located in Salisbury, about 90 miles southwest of London. Built almost entirely in the 13th century, the cathedral boasts the tallest spire and the largest cloisters in England.

The history of Salisbury Cathedral begins two miles away at Old Sarum, an ancient fortified plateau where a Norman cathedral was built by Bishop St. Osmund in 1075. The sight must have been impressive, but the location proved to be a constant headache due to its exposure to the elements and lack of sufficient water.

Finally, in 1217, Bishop Richard le Poore wrote to the Pope for permission to abandon the site for a better location two miles away, at the confluence of two rivers. The petition was granted and the clergy moved to the new site in 1219.

Construction on Salisbury Cathedral began in the Early English Gothic style in 1220. The work was completed quickly, resulting in a unity of architecture rarely seen in England. Even after Bishop le Poore moved to Durham, the builders adhered to the original design until its completion.

In accordance with common practice, construction began at the east end and worked west. The Chapel of the Holy Trinity and All Saints was completed in 1225, after which the tomb of St. Osmund was moved there from Old Sarum. Next came the choir, transepts and nave, which were complete by 1258, when the cathedral was consecrated. The elaborate west front was finished in 1255, the cloister in 1270 and the chapter house in 1284.

The only major element to be added later was the famous spire, which came along in 1310-33. But its shape matches the cathedral perfectly and is made from the same stone, quarried from Chilmark 12 miles away. The spire was a daring addition, forcing the structure below to carry a dangerous amount of weight (6,500 tons with the tower). Only a multitude of buttresses, bracing arches and iron ties have kept it from collapsing over the centuries.

The rare harmony of Salisbury Cathedral was damaged by the architect James Wyatt in 1789-92, whose "restorations" included removing the 13th-century choir screen, high altar, stained glass windows and detached bell tower, and rearranging the nave's monuments into rows. Another restoration by Sir George Gilbert Scott in 1859 attempted to put some of it back together again.

Meditation Garden in the Cloister

Meditation Garden in the Cloister

    Monastic gardens typically had three main gardens: the herber, herb, physic, or infirmary garden which provided medicines for the infirmary, and the orchard and kitchen gardens, which provided food (although many herbal preparations would have been made from plants in these gardens as well). The designers of these gardens often when to particular trouble to make them attractive as well as practical - medieval monks, like modern day gardeners, delighted in the beauty as well as function of plants. Sometimes fruit trees and berry bushes were planted through the graveyard so that the space had twin usefulness and beauty. Latrines could be positioned near the vegetable beds of the kitchen garden not merely to supply the kitchen garden with a ready-made and close source of manure for its soil, but also perhaps to sweeten the monks' journey to and from the latrines.

Monasteries therefore had to supply not only their own food, ales and wines and herbal medicines, but the food and medical treatments for a large number of other people as well. An important part of the monk's duty of care, to their dependents as well as to God, was maintaining the monastic gardens. The gardening duties had become so onerous in some monasteries that by the end of the twelfth centuries the monks had to hire in lay gardeners to help manage their gardens.

Monastic gardens typically had three main gardens: the herber, herb, physic, or infirmary garden which provided medicines for the infirmary, and the orchard and kitchen gardens, which provided food (although many herbal preparations would have been made from plants in these gardens as well). The designers of these gardens often when to particular trouble to make them attractive as well as practical - medieval monks, like modern day gardeners, delighted in the beauty as well as function of plants. Sometimes fruit trees and berry bushes were planted through the graveyard so that the space had twin usefulness and beauty. Latrines could be positioned near the vegetable beds of the kitchen garden not merely to supply the kitchen garden with a ready-made and close source of manure for its soil, but also perhaps to sweeten the monks' journey to and from the latrines. Planting beds were generally very carefully laid out in both the physic garden and the kitchen garden. A typical garden would have at least six beds, perhaps protected by low hazel fences or hurdles, aligned along a central pathway. The physic garden could have twenty beds or more, one bed for each herb. The monks grew cumin, fennel, comfrey, feverfew, yarrow, pimpernel, rosemary, sage, rue, lavender, rose, iris, mint, lovage and pennyroyal among others. What was not grown in the physic garden could be gathered from the wild - along the river meadows and under the hedgerows.

In the kitchen garden the monks would have grown turnips, parsnips, a variety of legumes, onions, leeks, mint, borage, nettle, violets, rocket, endive, wormwood, basil, carnations, melons and mugwort to name only a few.
Also forming an important, if less decorative part, of the monastic garden was the cloister garden (or cloister-garth). While some cloister gardens had shrubs and flowers, most had only a level field of lawn. The simplicity, as well the emerald colour, aided the monks or nuns in their daily spiritual contemplations - the plain green lawn symbolized renewal and everlasting life.

The monastic official who oversaw the gardens was known as the ortolanus. He not only oversaw production in the gardens, but also administered the hiring of staff (if the monastery needed to hire in lay gardeners). One of the perks for the lay gardeners was that, as well as monetary wages, they also often obtained medicinal care, food, gloves and boots for their labour.
In the smaller religious houses, those with only a handful of monks or lay brothers, there were no lay gardeners at all. The monks did all the work, whether in freezing hail or summer sunshine, living and dying by the fruits of their endeavours.