In winding up my current postings on Norfolk and the second part of Wymondham I'll begin with the Abbey
Wymondham Abbey is the town's Parish Church
It is called and Abbey as the present church was once attached to a monastery founded in 1107 byWilliam d'Aubigny, the royal butler.
The east end of the church (now ruined) was where the monks worshipped.
Some of the restoration work currently taking place
It is partly in ruins because in 1538 King Henry VIII
closed the monastery. The monk's church and living quarters were gradually dismantled and the materials sold off.
Certainly a work in progress
The central nave still has it's original round Norman arches built of stone from Caen in France.
During the 1400s the roof was raised and the north aisle rebuilt and enlarged. The bell towers were re-built with one at the east (for the monks) and one at the west for the parish.
The great organ was installed in 1793
and the gilded screen behind the main alter was added in the last century as a memorial to the people killed in the Great War of 1914-18.
It was Harvest time when we were there. Not something you see much of these days
Now onto something very different
The historic railway station, no longer in use was built in 1845 on the Norwich to Ely line. The station and it's section once employed over 100 staff,
providing a frequent rail link with Norwich, London, Cambridge, the Midlands and the North West.
The award winning station has now been restored and it's buildings house a restaurant and tea room.
Interesting how it has been fitted out as a reminder of the trains of bygone days
There is of course a modern railway line now close to here.
Well we did not stop to snack as we had quite a long and steep walk back to the market place and preferred to wait until
we arrived back at the Market Place
where we sat outside at the Mad Hatters Tea Shop
before resuming our journey home.
Hard to think now that this was back in October when it was sunny and warm for the time of year.
Since then we have experienced the wettest Winter on record.
At least we can be thankful that we did not experience the devastating flooding that parts of the country did.
11 comments:
Thank you for the wonderful views of the Abbey. My favorite is that amazing wooden ceiling with the stars and angels looking down. and it's lovely to get a glimpse of you and Alan - you both look great.
That was wonderful, thanks-- enjoyed both 1 and 2.
How are you both these days? We are having much rain and flooding.
Here in Tennessee but from where we moved from in Arkansas it is
really bad.
What a restoration process! Sometimes I am tempted to wonder what the sense of it is. Do you ever feel that way or is it an ignoramus's thought process? =D You do look cute and summery sitting there in warm October. Sorry that the winter was so long and wet. I imagine that it means you aren't able to get back into the garden quite yet. Praying that spring more than makes up for it!
That Mad Hatter's Tea Shop is calling my name! How nice that you had weather that was nice enough to sit outside...
Thank you for the tour. Wonderful pictures. I love looking at old churches and cathedrals.
The screen behind the altar is beautiful. I will have to google for more details. I loved these posts and imagine that I would consult them and some of your previous posts if I were to take a tour to that part of the world.
You've caught some beautiful light in the Abbey -- all the golden highlights are gorgeous.
Thanks for the tour. I love the old train seats in the cafe. We have a train cafe near us and I love sitting in the old carriages
Such amazing history and interesting pictures. I cannot imagine how structures were built this way in 1107.
I love the Mad Hatters Tea Shop, would love to be there. :-)
Thanks for sharing.
Audrey.
How interesting to see the wooden beams in the church. Such wonderful construction (and reconstruction).
The two of you look wonderful. And it's obvious you were enjoying the sunshine.
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