We’re not
still travelling – we’ve been at GB’s for a couple of days - but my blog has
yet to catch up with us…
Last Saturday
morning, with the sun still shining, we made our way to Grasmere. On the radio there were reports of major
flooding throughout the country but the River Rothay showed no signs of being
too full.
I think this
Morris Minor was parked here last year.
The Church at
Grasmere is named after St Oswald, a 7th Century Christian King of
Northumberland, who is said to have preached on the site. It is the parish
church of Grasmere, Rydal and Langdale, and each township has its own separate
gate into the churchyard. The nave is
13th Century.
The North
aisle of the church, almost as big as the nave, was added in 1490 for the
residents of Langdale.
The nave
holds several memorials but the one most people come to see is that of William
Wordsworth who lived at Grasmere for much of his life until his death on 23rd
April (St George's Day) 1850 at the age of 80.
He and Mary have a simple tombstone in the churchyard, now one of the
most visited literary shrines in the world.
Just think,
these beams were trees when King John signed the Magna Carta, the Mongolsv
under Genghis Khan were conquering Russia, the Spanish and Portuguese were
trying to expel the Moors from the Iberian peninsula, and Thomas Aquinas was
writing his Summa Theologiae.
GB likes his
Mr Whippy ice cream but I think that’s a bit ambitious.
When we first
came to The Lakes in the early 1960s one could not see Thirlmere from the road;
it was screened off by the trees. Now
many of the Scots Pine have been harvested and the view is vastly improved.
There is also
a parking place at the head of the lake which people take advantage of to
photograph the lake and the nearby mountains.
Including
Helvellyn, the third highest peak in England at 3,117 ft.
I’m sure
Keswick didn’t have a giraffe last year!
One of my
favourite inn signs.
Street
musicians.
The view of
the Moot Hall and market from the Pillar House café window.
Can I
interest you in some grapes?
The Moot
Hall.
I wouldn’t
mind having a lottery win to buy some original works of art here.
Blencathra.
I guess this
could be the end of the sunshine for the day….
It will be
Scotland in the rain for tomorrow’s posting.
Another post full of lovely photographs and interesting information, thank you! What does Moot mean? (Of course I could look it up, but it is much nicer to have you explaining it)
ReplyDeleteA moot hall is a meeting or assembly building, traditionally to decide local issues. In Anglo-Saxon England, a low ring-shaped earthwork served as a moot hill or moot mound, where the elders of the hundred would meet to take decisions. Some of these acquired permanent buildings, known as moot halls. However, many moot halls are on relatively new sites within later settlements.
DeleteThe Moot Hall, in Keswick Market Square, was built in 1813, and has an unusual one-handed clock. The history of The Moot Hall is sketchy, but there are reports of a significant building on the site as early as 1571.
Moot means debateable; of little or no practical value or meaning; purely academic - hence Marcheline's moot point, below. But at one time a moot court was a mock court used by law students for mock trials. Ignore that - the name Moot Hall had nothing to do with mock trials it goes back even further to when moot meant a debate, argument or discussion. It was therefore a hall for discussion.
I'm sure moot courts are still part of the law students' training in Scotland and, when I was reading for the English Bar they were used then too. I don't suppose things have changed much since.
DeleteThank you for letting me learn more about this!
DeleteNice photos. Don't yuo call street musicians "buskers" or has that word become obsolete?
ReplyDeleteI think we tend only to call them buskers when they are outside theatres, etc. entertaining the queues waiting to go in. It's a term I haven't heard used outside of that context.
DeleteI'm glad to see you did get a few sunny stops on your journey. Lovely views from the lake district!
ReplyDeleteI was going to comment on that Hall, but it's a Moot point...
ReplyDelete"...the sky is beginning to bruise, and we shall be forced to camp." - Uncle Monty, Withnail & I
Only instead of camping we headed into the worst of it. Is there a quote in Withnail along the lines of 'Silly us!'?
DeleteOooo, good one, Marcheline! :o)
DeleteDo you know if the beams were treated to make them last so long?
ReplyDeleteWelcome, Nothing Exceptional. But you aren't supposed to ask questions I don't know the answer to! Sorry. Does anyone know?
DeleteLots of familiar places and names in this post. We spent our honeymoon in Keswick in 1959. It rained everyday but we have been several other times and love the area.
ReplyDelete