Our World Tuesday - Pickerings Medieval Church

St. Peter & St. Paul is the oldest church in Pickering, 900 years ago a Saxon church was built on this site, the only remains of that church is a carved cross shaft and the stone font now residing in the present Norman church which was built around 1140.  Around 1200 the tower collapsed destroying part of the church, rebuilding took place and a massive tower was erected, it was completed in three stages over a period of 300 years.  The church contains one of the most complete sets of medieval wall paintings in Britain, thought to have been commissioned in 1450 and painted over a period of ten years.  100 years later they were covered over with a thick coat of plaster during the Protestant Reformation, but were eventually rediscovered when the plaster was removed.  Unfortunately one of the incumbent vicars decided they were a distraction from his sermons and full of "Popish superstitions" so he had them covered again with a thick coat of whitewash.  The main reason for the paintings in Medieval times was as an aid to worship as the congregations were largely illiterate, the pictures helped them to understand the Bible stories.  In 1876 the then vicar, Rev. G.H. Lightfoot, had the whitewash removed and the paintings were restored to their former splendour.

 The first set of pictures are in the North Aisle, opposite the entrance, and the first photo represents St. George and the Dragon and St. Christopher.  St. George was born in the place now known as Palestine in 280AD, he served as a Roman soldier, became a Christian and was persecuted eventually suffering matyrdom in 303AD,  He is Englands Patron Saint, the symbol of the struggle between good and evil.
St. Christopher is the Patron Saint of Travellers, originally named Offero, he set off on a quest to serve the greatest king, he travelled the world, finally reaching a monastery where he wished to serve King Jesus but as he knew nothing of prayer he was given the job of carrying people across the river to the monastery.  According to legend, one day he heard a child on the opposite bank crying, he took the child on his shoulder and carried him across, but was amazed to find the child heavier than anyone else he had ever carried.  The child said "Your load is heavy because you are carrying someone who carries the sins of all the world."  So thereafter Offero was known as Christopher - The Christ-bearer.  On the right hand side of the second photo is the story of the beheading of St. John the Baptist and shows Salome dancing and Herod presenting her with John the Baptists head on a plate.           

                                                                  The right hand side of the third photo shows scenes from two martydoms. the first one on the bottom is of St. Edmund born in 840 who at age 14 became the Christian King of East Anglia.  The Vikings invaded in 869, marching through Mercia and into East Anglia, destroying the abbeys of Peterborough and Ely on their way.  Edmund fought them at Hoxne on the Waveney and the Danish leader offered to set Edmund up as a 'puppet king' if he would renounce Christianity.  Edmund refused.  On November 20th 870, they stripped him naked, tied him to a tree and shot him with arrows.  The scene above that is of the murder of St. Thomas Becket, appointed Archbishop of Canterbury in 1162 by his friend King Henry II.  Henry wanted to bring the church under state control but Thomas refused to co-operate.  Henry was furious and in a burst of temper was heard to say "Will no-one rid me of this turbulent priest."  Four knights who overheard took him at his word and murdered Thomas in the cathedral of Canterbury.  Pope Alexander III declared Becket a saint, and his shrine in Canterbury became a most hallowed place in England.

The Chancel & Sanctuary

Stone Saxon Font

Close-up of Effigy of Sir William Bruce

Effigy of Sir William Bruce

To the right of the Chancel the late 18th century Hepplewhite pulpit can be seen. To the left is the alabaster effigy of Sir William Bruce, a Knight, depicted wearing mail and plate armour of the 1340-50 period.  He established a chantry in the church in 1337.

Next week I will show photo's of the paintings on the South Aisle wall along with other items of interest in this beautiful and well used Parish church.

Also the reason why an American flag is on display in the Sanctuary. 

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Our World Tuesday - Pickering, North Yorkshire - Part 3

Both Pickering town and the railway station are getting ready for several upcoming events, one is the forthcoming 'War Weekend' in which a lot of people descend upon the town, most of them wearing WWII clothes or Service uniforms.  There will be all sorts of things going on, plus a Military Parade, a local man takes the part of Monty, General Montgomery every year, and there are visitors from several countries including the USA, Germany and Italy, some of whom were actually P.O.W's here, they will probably visit Eden Camp in Malton too, the old P.O.W. camp that is now a War Museum.  

One other very special event which takes place in December is the running of the Santa Special trains by NYMR, when Santa and I, (Mistress Holly Claus, Santa's wife) will travel on the trains from Pickering to Levisham, and back again, talking to the children (of all ages) and giving out presents.  You can see our poster in the top left hand corner of the Notice Board.  

A few more photo's from Pickering Castle now, with a little information.  Last week I posted photo's of Mill Tower, it is not certain whether it was a horse mill, where a horse-powered crushing wheel would have been used for grinding coarse flour, but by 1537 the tower was in a state of disrepair so there was no longer a horse mill at the castle. By 1621 it was put back into good order and the ground floor was probably used as a prison, the upper chamber with its fireplace and latrine could have housed the gaoler.   

The well is located in the ditch at the foot of the Kings Tower Keep, and is 75 ft or 23m deep, in medieval measurements that is 20 ells.  It was dug through the limestone very early in the castle's history.  The depth is known because there is a record of a cord having been purchased for the well bucket during King Edward II's time.

The Chapel is the only building that still has a roof.  It is believed the chapel was built around 1226-27 as there is a record of a chaplain being appointed in 1238 and he was supported by royal income.  The chaplain's income came from two sources, the revenue from the Hospital of St. Nicholas, granted by John of Gaunt, Duke of Lancaster, on condition that the chaplain maintained its fabric.  Then Edward IV established a chantry of Our Lady within the castle in 1460, giving the chaplain additional income.  The castle had a resident chaplain up until 1547 when Henry VIII closed all chantry chapels and confiscated their income.  Bad old King Hal.

Rosamunds Tower is the northernmost tower and stands astride the inner ditch, this allowed a small gate to be placed in the ditch bottom, (a postern).  The postern had a small drawbridge and was built on the instruction of Edward II, but it is not known when or why the name Rosamund was given to the tower.  'Fair Rosamund' was the mistress of Henry II, but she had died more than a century earlier.   The gate is also referred to as a Sallyport.

Lastly, the main entrance in the outer ward of the castle is the Gatehouse, it was a two-storey tower with entrance passage below, a drawbridge and portcullis which was operated by a mechanism in a well defended room above.  The portcullis is no longer to be seen and the tall gateway has been filled in with stone, leaving just a small entrance now but the outline of the original gate can still be seen.  Click on any photo to enlarge.

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Our World Tuesday - Pickering, North Yorkshire - Part 2

Two well known steam engines that arrived at Platform 1

Tornado - Engine number 60163

Duke of Gloucester - Engine number 71000

A stepped Hill off Park Street

The first Pickering castle dates from around 1069, built by the Norman invader William the Conqueror.  Whilst suppressing revolts throughout the North, he built many castles to help in the defence against the Danes and Scots, and to control the English.  The castle was a motte-and-bailey design and was originally built of wood, eventually as the wood decayed, the castle was gradually replaced with stone, during the 12th century.

Pathway to Kings Tower Keep at Pickering Castle

 Steps leading up to Kings Tower Keep

An Archers eye view from window slit and

Information Board

The grassy mound upon which the Keep was built is a man-made mound or 'motte' - and from that vantage point there was an excellent view across the Vale of Pickering to the south towards Malton.

                                   Mill Tower Entrance

 

The

Mill

Tower

    

 East Tower (Left) and Rosamund Tower 

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Our World Tuesday - Pickering, North Yorkshire, UK - Part One

Pickering is a market town situated on the side of a hill, the summit of which is crowned by a castle.  At the foot of the hill the Pickering beck runs through the town.  Though Pickering is now considered just a small country market town, it was once a place of much greater importance.

A tradition, imbedded in the Saxon Chronicle, it was founded by Peridurus more than 2000 years ago, he was a British king who reigned two centuries before the Roman invasion.

According to legend, Pickering was named from the recovery of a ring, lost by Peridurus whilst bathing in the Costa beck, and which was later recovered from the belly of a pike.  Another idea is that the name signifies the ing, or river-meadow near the pik, or peak; and Pika, Norse, a maiden, and hringr, a ring, has also been suggested.

On the other side of the road, the beck  is lined with fairly new apartments. The beck is shallow and has a rocky bed, and it is home to a lot of ducks. A few years ago we had disastrous flooding take place in Pickering and the beck rose so high it invaded several properties along the banks.  Two were the Rose Inn and Beck Isle Museum, located either side of Bridge Street; another was the Fortune Inn, a very popular Cantonese Restaurant.  It took many months to dry out and restore so many businesses and homes that had been devastated in the flooding.

On Mondays, market stalls line one side of the main shopping street of Pickering.  Both the market and the Railway, NYMR (North Yorkshire Moors Railway) are very important to Pickering, and bring in a lot of revenue to the town.  In December Christmas time comes to NYMR as they run the Santa Special trains, more about that in another episode.

In the photo here are some of the dedicated staff who work at NYMR, 

keeping everyone fed and happy.  One of the ladies in the photo asked if I wanted a Women's Institute Calendar type photo, but being 'chicken' I declined!  If you have seen that calendar, you will know what I am talking about.

Below is a photo of the steam engine

'Cock O The North' engine number 92214.  Next week, more from Pickering.                           Click on photo's to enlarge.

                                           

                                                                                                                             

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Our World Tuesday - Visit to Lordstones

Lordstones is one of our favourite places, a cafe built into a hillside, out on the wilds of Carlton Bank, just a few miles away from the market town of Stokesley.  The cafe is named for a Celtic Standing Stone on the property which is around 5000 years old.  To get to Lordstones you need to take the B1257 from Helmsley to Chop Gate (pronounced Chop Yat by the locals!)  Halfway through the village there is a very sharp left hand bend, opposite the war memorial, that leads up a single track
road, about 3.5 miles along there, you will find the entrance to the cafe carpark on the right.

The cafe is popular with bikers, hikers, tourists in general and locals.  They are open every day of the year except Christmas Day and New Years Day.  They have a very extensive and reasonably priced menu, you can get anything from a simple sandwich to a full roast dinner, all kinds of deserts, plus several kinds of beer, and their own ice cold water on tap straight from an underground spring.  They also have Carp ponds very close to the cafe.  (That's one in the header pic.)

Turning left from the cafe and walking up the path towards what looks at first glance to be a golf course, there is the Standing Stone in front of you.  Keep walking up towards the horizon and suddenly you will find yourself overlooking a valley 1000 feet below, and stretching off into the distance as far as the eye can see.

It is very quiet up here, the occasional twitter of a bird, or voices of hikers floating through the air.  Down below in the valley you will see a beautiful patchwork of fields, the tiny white dots are sheep, and you just may hear the sound of a working tractor drifting up from the valley.

To the right you can see a conical hill, Roseberry Topping, it has an ancient and tragic legend attached to it, about a King, his wife and their small son.  If you want to read the story go to the following link:

http://jacselsknit-n-krochetkorner.blogspot.com/2011/03/vt-of-y-part-2-legend-of-roseberry.html

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Our World Tuesday - Along a Country Road

 Just a short distance from Malton town centre, along Castle Howard Road you will find horses and ponies belonging to the Romany gypsies grazing the wide grassy verges.  They are tethered with long ropes so they can move around easily, and their owners visit them daily to replenish the large plastic buckets with water, and to move them to fresh grazing when necessary.


The horses and ponies seem to be quite friendly and are not in the least bit bothered by passing traffic.  Though it is a country road, it is a fairly busy one.

 I took some photo's of

plants and shrubs growing in the verges and hedgerows.

The hawthorn is full of bright red berries again this year, which some say means another hard winter.

There is a close up of part of an Ivy with clusters of green berries, I have not been able to identify what variety it is yet.

A close-up of a pretty purple thistle and some tiny white flowers, and a seed head of a form of Umbelliferae, which one I do not know.

 

 

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