Pictures (from the top)Town of Romsey -- two views
Interior of Romsey Abbey
Test River showing the salmon leap (we'd call it a ladder)
St. Margaret's Church
Florence Nightengale's tomb; A Florence Nightengale rose
The vicar in his Florence Nightengale cope
Arrived in Southampton on the train on Wednesday; Clare, the parish holiday coordinator, met me and then we picked up another visitor who arrived by bus from Heathrow. Drove to Sherfield English where I was left with my host family, Margaret and Brian, who are also housing Aprel, a visitor from Colorado Springs. After a wonderful meal of quiche and a glass of wine, my cold and I retired to try to get some sleep and feel better.
On Thursday the touring began in earnest. Picked up at 10 we drove to the nearby market town of Romsey, a lovely place which has the ancient Abbey (of Benedictine nuns) which was, of course, dissolved by Henry VIII, who was happy to sell the church to the town for 100 pounds, so it wasn’t torn down or otherwise degraded. As a result the Abbey building is now the parish church of St. Mary and St. Ethelflaeda, a 10th century abbess who apparently (according to Claire) was canonized for standing naked in the river reciting psalms. Weird, but. . . .
Lunch was at the tearoom at King John’s House, a 13th century building. It was thought for many years after the determination that the building dated from the 1200s that this was King John’s Hunting Lodge which was known to be in the area. Unfortunately for a good story, later research determined that the building wasn’t built until a few years after his death. This is the same King John whose tomb is in Worcester Cathedral.
After touring the Abbey we walked to a nearby park and then along the River Test, which is famous for its excellent fishing – particularly trout. There are also some salmon, but they are not as plentiful as they once were.
We ended the day at St. Margaret’s, East Wellow, the sister parish to St. Leonard’s in Sherfield English as they share a Vicar. St. Margaret’s is primarily known as the burial place of Florence Nightingale. We saw her grave and a DVD about her life, work, and connection to East Wellow. The Vicar modeled a special cope, given to the church by the Florence Nightingale Society in the U.S., which he wears on the occasion of her birthday which is celebrated every year and wore again just a few weeks ago at the centenary of her death. Down the front are various symbols related to her life and the back is the chart from the statistical study she did about causes of death during the Crimean War (the largest majority from disease contracted in hospitals, but that category reduced as sanitation she recommended was put into effect). The visit concluded with tea and cake provided by the ladies of the parish; quite delicious.
Returned to our lodging where I did a little ironing – having washed clothes in the morning before leaving for the day and hung them out on the line. Brought back memories of my childhood when I helped my mom hang clothes. After dinner and a pleasant chat talking about British and American politics (it’s clear that Aprel and I diverge politically), I retired to Brian’s office to write this. Plan to get to bed early; the cold is still with me.
On Thursday the touring began in earnest. Picked up at 10 we drove to the nearby market town of Romsey, a lovely place which has the ancient Abbey (of Benedictine nuns) which was, of course, dissolved by Henry VIII, who was happy to sell the church to the town for 100 pounds, so it wasn’t torn down or otherwise degraded. As a result the Abbey building is now the parish church of St. Mary and St. Ethelflaeda, a 10th century abbess who apparently (according to Claire) was canonized for standing naked in the river reciting psalms. Weird, but. . . .
Lunch was at the tearoom at King John’s House, a 13th century building. It was thought for many years after the determination that the building dated from the 1200s that this was King John’s Hunting Lodge which was known to be in the area. Unfortunately for a good story, later research determined that the building wasn’t built until a few years after his death. This is the same King John whose tomb is in Worcester Cathedral.
After touring the Abbey we walked to a nearby park and then along the River Test, which is famous for its excellent fishing – particularly trout. There are also some salmon, but they are not as plentiful as they once were.
We ended the day at St. Margaret’s, East Wellow, the sister parish to St. Leonard’s in Sherfield English as they share a Vicar. St. Margaret’s is primarily known as the burial place of Florence Nightingale. We saw her grave and a DVD about her life, work, and connection to East Wellow. The Vicar modeled a special cope, given to the church by the Florence Nightingale Society in the U.S., which he wears on the occasion of her birthday which is celebrated every year and wore again just a few weeks ago at the centenary of her death. Down the front are various symbols related to her life and the back is the chart from the statistical study she did about causes of death during the Crimean War (the largest majority from disease contracted in hospitals, but that category reduced as sanitation she recommended was put into effect). The visit concluded with tea and cake provided by the ladies of the parish; quite delicious.
Returned to our lodging where I did a little ironing – having washed clothes in the morning before leaving for the day and hung them out on the line. Brought back memories of my childhood when I helped my mom hang clothes. After dinner and a pleasant chat talking about British and American politics (it’s clear that Aprel and I diverge politically), I retired to Brian’s office to write this. Plan to get to bed early; the cold is still with me.
looks awesome, so charming and so much history....wish we were with you...
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