Bray.

 

 

Monday and it was clear I wasn't getting away anywhere exciting so things were a bit gloomy for me. And the weather was miserable; sorry you get the truth on this Blog.

 

Sometimes fairy tales don't come true.

 

We went out in the afternoon to take a look at Bray which is next to Maidenhead on the River Thames.

 

It's probably the richest part of the country - a lot of T.V. and Radio personalities live there, down by the river (Terry Wogan, Michael Parkinson and Rolf Harris before he went to jail).

 

We went there because you can see a lot of historic old, oak-beamed buildings;

 

 



 

 

It's the oddest of places.

 

On the face of it it's an historic old-world village but there's no one there in the daytime. It's a ghost village.

 

There are Pubs but somewhere around is the 'Fat Duck' although you wouldn't know it from the road. It's Heston Blumenthal's ultra-expensive, Michelin-Starred Rich Kids restaurant and he owns some or all of the Pubs too.

 

But it really is historic too; this is the 'Lich gate' built in 1448 according to the plaque on the wall. It's a passageway and a gate under an oak-beamed gatehouse;

And if you don't believe me you'll find that the cobblestones are rough at the edges where people's feet didn't reach and smooth in the centre where people walked for over 500 years.

The Church is famous as the home of 'The Vicar of Bray', a phrase which came to mean 'treachery' because the Vicar kept changing sides in the civil war, depending on who looked most likely to win; 

The parish must have gone through periods of wealth and poverty during the years of construction - there are bands of cheap chalk as well as a lot of flint and even stone when times were better. The chalk is wearing badly now.

The flints came down from the Chiltern Hills nearby.

As we were leaving, we came across the Alms Houses;

Built in 1627 by William Goddard Esquire of The Right Worshipful Company of Fishmongers of The City of London, the Fishmongers (they are now businessmen or city bankers) still look after the bequest today;  "Wherein he hath left it for the poore people forever".

Here he is looking very prosperous and fairly pleased with himself too;

 

 

 

Neil Harris

 

(a don't stop till you drop production)

 

 

Home: helpmesortoutstpeters.blogspot.com

 

Contact me:  neilwithpromisestokeep@gmail.com

 



Roman life

These eerie bubbles are rising from the depths of the earth into the sacred pool of Sulis at the Roman Baths in Bath. The water is about 42 centigrade and falls to a comfortable hand hot by the time it arrives at the bathing pools. It's no wonder the Romans worshipped such a wonder of the world as this;

The Baths and temple complex are full of statues and carved heads which reflect their beliefs.

This head is believed to be a 'Gorgon' type face - I don't agree - there aren't any snakes. It looks a lot more like the 'Green Man' of British mythology, which would make perfect sense as the Romans often took over other peoples Gods for their own use.

This next magnificent mask is the face of the British God 'Sulis' as stolen by the Romans and given the appearance of their God 'Minerva', the God of healing;

Here's one of the heads from the many Roman graves;

There are a host of everyday items, not least because many were dropped into the spring as an offering to the Gods - over 13000 coins alone.

Top left is a bauble from a military uniform, top right is a centurion's belt buckle while in the centre is a Roman saucepan/beaker;

These are moulds for molten pewter, a metal alloy often used by Romans;

These are keys - the Romans had locks!

They had jewellery (the spring contained many jewels and carved items), they had hairpins and combs. They also had problems with crime.

This is a small sheet of lead thrown into the spring - it's a curse sent to the Gods for their help;

Here are three sample curses, dealing with the theft of property, the last one because of the theft of a slave;

Do not allow sleep or health to him who has done me wrong, whether man or woman, whether slave or free, unless he reveals himself  and brings those goods to your  temple.

 

The person who has lifted my bronze cooking pot is utterly accursed. I give him to the temple of Sulis

Whether woman or man

Whether slave or free

Whether girl or boy

And let him who has done this spill his own blood into the vessel itself.

 

May the person who has taken Vilbia become as liquid as water

These everyday items were the best part of the day for me - like walking in the steps of the Romans of 2000 years ago.

Here are the paving stones from the Bath/Temple complex, just the same as they were all those years ago;

 

 

Neil Harris

(a don't stop till you drop production)

 

Home: helpmesortoutstpeters.blogspot.com

 

Contact me:  neilwithpromisestokeep@gmail.com