Last Updated on 26th May 2019It should be simple enough to write a bit about Easter, I thought. After all, it is the most important festival in the Christian calendar, and a good deal of Britain’s heritage, at least for…
Thank God for Southwell Minster
Last Updated on 23rd January 2018There are so many reasons to visit Southwell Minster that it’s a good job someone decided to build it… A few miles north-west of Nottingham, in the English East Midlands, Southwell is neither on a…
The ghosts of Christ Church Greyfriars
Christ Church Greyfriars is one of those places you stumble across in London without meaning to. That’s exactly what I did a few years ago, drifting in search of somewhere to eat a sandwich after a tedious meeting. Close to…
St Andrew, patron saint of Scotland
Last Updated on 7th November 2019Scotland’s national saint, St Andrew, has his day on 30th November. As well as being the patron saint of Scotland, St Andrew is the patron saint of Amalfi, Barbados, Greece, Romania, Russia, the Ukraine, singers,…
London’s Church of the Templars
Last Updated on 31st January 2018Almost hidden, tucked away from the jarring bustle of London just off the Strand, you may stumble upon a church that was built by the Knights Templar. Like all Templar churches, it is round –…
St Patrick’s Chapel, Heysham
Last Updated on 10th August 2019This is one of our friend Jeni’s favourite places and she said we should go; so of course we did. Heysham (pronounced ‘hee-shum’, not ‘hay-sham’) sits on Lancashire’s coast at the southern end of Morecambe…
St Mary’s Chapel, Lead
In a field opposite the Crooked Billet pub near the village of Saxton, in North Yorkshire, stands the tiny chapel of St Mary’s, Lead. Cross the field over Cock Beck, which was said to run red with blood after the…
Visiting Alice de la Pole and St Mary’s, Ewelme
I was looking for Geoffrey Chaucer’s Granddaughter – as you do. In the process, I discovered a unique church and the last resting place of Jerome K Jerome. Let’s start with Chaucer’s granddaughter, Alice de la Pole. Alice was quite…
Fox’s Pulpit
My mate Dave said we should go to Fox’s Pulpit. “There’s not a lot to see,” he said. “But we should go.” He was right, of course – on both counts. Fox’s Pulpit is one of those curios of the…
Balliol College
Last Updated on 30th July 2019Peeking past the porter’s lodge is looking through a window into another world; a world of privilege, beauty, tradition, history and at least a thousand stories. Here is a bit about Balliol College, one of…
Mungo’s Glasgow Cathedral
Glasgow, one of Britain’s great cities and Scotland’s largest, is famous for many things; but probably not for its cathedral. Indeed, at first glance, Glasgow Cathedral appears a little drab compared with some of its squeaky-cleaned up, maybe wealthier, siblings…
Give us a song, Caedmon
This is the story of England’s first known poet. Once upon a time, many many years ago, there was a good herdsman who lived on a cliff top called Streaneshalch. The herdsman’s name was Caedmon; he was no spring chicken…