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Norwich Castle and Market Stalls
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Our weekend excursions this year were to Norwich and Ely.
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| Norwich Arcade |
As England’s second city from medieval days through to the Industrial Revolution, Norwich has always been enormously prosperous and culturally active. Norman invaders built the imposing castle and the spired Anglican cathedral. As the city grew, so did its still intact medieval street pattern – said to be the largest in Europe. Today, it occupies a much lower perch in the economic pecking order, the wool business having long since moved elsewhere, but it boasts a wonderful pedestrian walking area, lots of shops, including a lovely covered arcade, a vibrant street market and a fine cathedral. We were there the day of the Gay Pride parade, so the city was full of people in brilliant garb and high good spirits.
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| Women's lives in the time of Cromwell |
In Ely the next day, we had a tour of the Oliver Cromwell House and the precincts of the Cathedral before we heard a heavenly Evensong in the Church Choir. The house in Ely is the only extent dwelling Oliver Cromwell is known to have occupied. He remains an incredibly controversial figure in England and the battle rages over whether he was a great or a wicked man.
The lovely thing about the house is the emphasis on how the Cromwell family lived, what they ate and wore, how they spent their time. Even our guide was dressed in period costume.
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| Ely Cathedral & octagonal dome |
Cromwell died in bed and was given a state funeral, but once Charles II became King, Cromwell was disinterred and executed, his head cut off and put on a pike in London. When it finally fell down, it disappeared, rumored to have been spirited off to Cambridge where it was given to Sydney Sussex College, which he had attended, and buried somewhere on the College grounds, a secret passed down all these years. You'd think somebody might have got it out of one of the Masters of the college, but they have remained mum for more than 350 years. (Historical note: Some say the head was simply buried at Tyburn, but I like the Sydney Sussex story better.)
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| Ely Cathedral and Lady Chapel (right) |
Ely Cathedral, which dates back to 1083, has one of the longest naves in England and a rather peculiar octagonal tower where the nave and transept cross, the result of the original tower having fallen down. It has also lost the tower to the left of the great front door, the result of inadequate foundations and poor understanding of how to support the weight of all that stone. The precincts are extensive, the old monastery long gone and many other buildings repurposed for the Cathedral School and various residences. This was a wealthy church because of the pilgrims who came to pray to St. Ethelreda, a 7th century Anglo-Saxon princess and saint. Although the church and convent she built were sacked by the Danes, it was re-founded by the Benedictines in the early 10th century and rebuilt again as a great Cathedral after the Norman invasion. The Lady Chapel is especially large and very beautiful.
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| Kettle's Yard |
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Detail, Kettle's Yard
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I should say something about Kettle's Yard in Cambridge as our visit comes to an end. Kettle's Yard was owned by Jim Ede, a curator at the Tate, who turned several tumble-down cottages into a lovely, though simple home, near St. John's College. He had a wonderful eye and the home is absolutely charming, full of some fine works of art, but a huge variety of simple objects made special by the way he arranged them. He invited undergraduates in every afternoon and eventually gave the home to the University of Cambridge with the condition that the house be kept exactly as he left it. It has recently been remodeled and a new art gallery added, but the essential features of his home remain and are well worth a visit. What's especially nice is that you can sit in the chairs or on the bed to see the art works the way he would have wanted you to see them. It all goes together so beautifully.
Friday evening was our celebratory "close of term" dinner and today we're off to London again. Judy and I will be in Exeter on Saturday night and then on to Cornwall. I'll be driving so I hope the local newspaper has put in an announcement asking the local population to pull in their treesđŸ˜‰!
