Have been travelling, blog re Peterborough and Rye Visits

Yes, I do apologise for not writing more recently, but I have been otherwise engaged, not least with a wee bit of wandering, virtually set free of the pandemic, although I'm still being very careful, wearing a face mask as appropriate, washing hands regularly, small bottle of sanitiser in my pocket, regular LFTs! Anyway, I did visit Peterborough again, and Peterborough Cathedral, built on the site of a monastery originally built in AD 655, rebuilding of the monastery church, what became the cathedral, commenced in 1118 following a fire in 1116 and previous sackings (more history at the website).

What I did find very interesting was that Henry VIII's first wife, Katherine Of Aragon, was buried here in 1536, and the remains of Mary, Queen of Scots, were buried here in 1587, though Mary's remains were exhumed on the orders of her son James I and transferred to a tomb at Westminster Abbey 25 years later. Katherine Of Aragon's body, though, remains entombed at Peterborough Cathedral, despite soldiers of Oliver Cromwell's Parliamentary Army vandalising the cathedral, and Katherine's tomb, in 1643; the memorial slab now there was installed in 1895. Katherine was an amazing woman of her time, and more information can be found at the Cathedral's website, and 12 'little-known' facts about her at the History Press website, both well worth a read.

Of course, whilst there, a number of hostelries were visited, and my alter ego, Steve the Beermeister, who wrote about my previous visit last year (blog), records details of the pubs visited on Saturday, including the new one above, and the beers enjoyed (blog).

And, as I wrote about my most recent visit to Rye in that recent blog, including visiting the Rye Waterworks micropub, I thought a few lines about the history of the Parish Church of St Mary in Rye would be very appropriate. Another Norman delight, with building of the church starting in the early 12th century, and the church continues to dominate the hill on which the 'old town' of Rye stands. 

Rye was regularly attacked by the French, as we know much of Kent and Sussex was in medieval times, notably Hastings too, but in 1377 Rye was looted and set on fire by French invaders, with extensive damage made to the church, its roof falling in, and the church bells carried off as a prize across the Channel. However, the next year men of Rye and Winchelsea sought revenge, sailing across the Channel themselves, in turn looting and setting fire to 2 towns in Normandy, recovering and returning much of the stolen loot to Rye, including the recovered church bells (Church website).

Enough of my musings, but get out there folks, remembering to stay safe of course!