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Published: December 17th 2009
Winter isn't the best of seasons to visit some of Britain's ancient outdoor attractions, but we weren't going to let some cold weather stop us exploring. While driving to and from Bath, we stopped at a few ancient sites.
The first place we visited was
Bratton Camp and Westbury White Horse. The current white horse was cut into the hillside in 1778, replacing a much earlier one. The original white horse may have been cut to commemorate King Alfreds nearby victory over the Vikings. Unfortunately today, the white horse isn't just a shape cut into the chalk hillside, it has been filled in with concrete to help stop it fading and the grass overgrowing it.
Above the white horse, and for us slightly more interesting, was an Iron Age hillfort enclosing a much older long barrow.
From the viewpoint along the road from the village of Bratton, we got a clear view of the white horse and part of the fort. We could see ridges and ditches along the top of the hill, and these got clearer as we drove up. There is a small lane leading up to farms on the hill, with a huge parking area
just outside the boundaries of the old fort. The lane goes through fort “walls” and entrance way. It was pretty blustery walking round the fort, and the views were marred slightly by the fog.
Just outside Bath is
Bradford-on-Avon, a town fanning out from an ancient crossing over the River Avon, spanned by a medieval and 17th century bridge complete with chapel. While the buildings there aren't really ancient, they are old ( 17th and 18th century) and some are really neat. If the air temp was a few degrees warmer, we might have braved camera and fingers and taken some photos. However...maybe we were brave enough to just get out the car - it was a very cold morning! The buildings were of the crooked type, walls not straight or vertical, each window at a different angle, leaving you wondering what exactly was holding the whole thing up.
After a quick wander through the centre of town, we followed a sign to a Saxon Church.
St Laurence's Church is definitely an ancient building! The twelfth century historian, William of Malmesbury, reports that it was standing in the 1120's, but thought it dated back to the time of
St Aldhelm who died in 709. A charter of King Ethelred granted Bradford to the nuns of Shaftesbury in 1001, and the church's architecture could suggest that it was built for the nuns in the early 11th century.
The church is (apparently!) a characteristic Anglo-Saxon building, tall and narrow with small windows. The flyer we read says that the extent and richness of its decoration are rare, suggesting that is was designed partly for the relics of Ethelreds brother Edward the Martyr, which were housed with the nuns at Shaftesbury.
At some point the church was no longer required and was used for other purposes. It came back in use as a church again in the 19th century, and there are still sometimes services there.
Like many thick, stone walled buildings, it was much warmer inside than outside, and we dared get the camera out to try and photograph the ceiling and some decorations. But with its small windows, it was pretty dark inside, suitable for those royal relics (in this case, relics probably means bones/body parts). The most noticeable decorative feature was a pair of angels high up on the wall of the nave, above the
door to the chapel. These have, apparently, been compared in style with those in a tenth century illumination from Winchester.
Also in Bradford was a 14th century
tithe barn. This is a 51m long monastic stone barn with a timber-cruck roof. What is timber-cruck I hear you ask, hmmm, I copied that out of the English Heritage guide we've been using! OK, timber-cruck is the style of the timber work and how all the pieces are joined together to give the roof strength. All the joints are hand made - well it is from the 14th century! - individually, and no two pieces are identical. Pretty impressive, so check out the photos! The barns original purpose was to store crops paid as tithes to the parish or manor, hence its name. Tenant farms contributed a tithe, meaning a tenth of their produce. King Ethelred gave the Manor of Bradford, including the monastery founded by St Aldhelm, to the Abbess of Shaftesbury in 1001. The barn is now owned and maintained by English Heritage. The surrounding land was farmed right up to the 1950's, now some of it is a park along the Avon river - way too cold to
go walking there, and too wet underfoot too.
Next up was the
Stoney Littleton Long Barrow, at the end of a wet and muddy walk through some fields. This long barrow is a neolithic chambered tomb, with its multiple burial chambers open to view. Again, it was much warmer inside the long barrow than outside. We didn't bring a torch so didn't go too far inside, but we did crawl a short way in. There was a central passage - with a very low roof - and side chambers, tombs, along both sides.
From there we went to Glastonbury, but that is another blog.
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Ferdi and Talita
Ferdi & Talita de Lange
Timber-cruck roof
We'd hate to have to build one of those! Especially with the lovely English weather you guys are "enjoying"! Happy travels, and thanx again for our sink, tap, and water container. As you've seen, we've given them a nice home. :-) Cheers!