Fighting monks
Hornsea Mere the largest freshwater lake in Yorkshire , was the subject of a bitter dispute over fishing
rights back in 1260. The dispute arose
when monks from St Mary’s Abbey in York and those at the much closer Meaux
Abbey both lay claim to the rights and it was decided that the dispute could be
settled by trial by jury or by physical combat.
The latter method was chosen and the opposing sides fought all day with
staves. Apparently the York monks were the victors.
Hornsea Mere
The devil’s taunts
The hanging vicar
In the mid 16th century, the Rev. Welch, vicar
of St Thomas’ Church in Cowick Street, Exeter, was hanged for treason During the Prayer Book Rebellion of 1549,
the vicar supported the rebels against reformation and supported the Latin
mass. Dressed in full ecclesiastical
vestments, he was left hanging from the church tower for four years
as ‘ a salutary warning’ !
St Thomas' Church
The Bishop’s Guest
House
Although the Swan Inn at Hoxne in Suffolk has been a pub since the early 17th
century, it was originally The Bishop’s Guest House. From Norman times the Bishops of Norwich
had a palace in this small village, although there is no trace of the building
today. We are told that when the Guest
House was built, the upstairs was divided into three ‘apartments’ each with its
own staircase! Local gossip has it that
all the ‘guests’ were female and this was a place where the clergy could find a
little relaxation in female company.
The Swan Inn
To whom I am grateful for the use of his Geograph photograph.
St Robert’s Cave
On the riverside at Knaresborough in North Yorkshire is a small cave which was the home of St Robert of Knaresborough from c1180 until
his death in1218. He was well known in the area and renowned throughout the
land as a holy man. Robert sought the life of a hermit but was responsible for
physical and spiritual healing and many miracles were attributed to him.
He was
visited by no less a personage than King John in 1216.
After his death Robert
was venerated as a saint.
The site gained
notoriety in 1758 when the body of local man Daniel Clark who had disappeared
some 13 years earlier was found buried there. He had been murdered and another
local man, Eugene Aram, was subsequently hanged for the crime.
St Roberts' Cave
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