The Carmichaels Abroad: April 25: Painswick and Cirencester

Today was a more relaxed day. We had breakfast fairly early, as there are skylights over each bed that make our rooms as brilliant as the great outdoors the moment the sun comes up. We are thrilled with our beautiful cottage, however, out here in the countryside with ducks,bunnies and sheep for neighbours.

We meant to visit a Roman villa, but ended up in the lovely wool town of Painswick. We continued on to Cirencester, where we visited the Corinium Museum, with a very interesting and not-too-overwhelming overview of the history of this area. We went to the Twelve Bells pub for a really great lunch, then saw the Parish Church of Cirencester, which is as old and certainly as historic as any cathedral. We went over to the grocery store and picked up some things for a pick up dinner this evening, and then returned to the cottage, where we went for a walk to view the animals on this working farm. Once again, the predicted rain has held off, and we sort of felt we should visit another place or two before the clouds roll in, but it has been a strenuous week for all of us, and I, for one, am grateful to get the blog done and have a few hours to relax.

A nice gentleman, Peter, took this picture of us in the churchyard in Painswick. There are 99 yew trees in the churchyard, and they are very old. They have tried many times to make it an even 100, but the devil always rips the 100th tree up and takes it away.

The lynchgate at the Painswick Church.

The three of us in the churchyard.

King Richard II. The church was buit during his reign.

This is a prosperous wool town, much like Stratford, and these are members of the Elizabethan middle class.

Alanna in the stocks.

Kathleen in the stocks. These are called spectacle stocks.

Most houses have big rooms on the main floor to accomodate a loom, and a "donkey" gate on the side of the house for deliveries that were done by donkey.

The church and some of the famous yew trees.

A Sixteenth Century house.

Glad to see that cousin Neil is doing well. Conservative???

Now we are in Cirencester, next to the city gates.

The museum was divided into "rooms" or sections, each representing a specific period in the history. This is an axe from the so-called "Celt" period. I was surprised to learn that in Britain the Celtic period is when the British tribes traded with the Celts and picked up aspects of their culture, but not when the Celts invaded or took over. The British Celts developed their own forms af art.

A Roman bowl.

The museum was full of mosaic floors and even a few frescoed walls.

Late Roman era, early Angle / Jute era. This cockerel was probably a grave marker.

This is an early Christian artefact, an acrostic message.

There are lots of real animals in this mosaic floor, but I like this dragon the best.

Anglo-Saxon era. This brooch was in the grave of a six-year-old child. It shows signs of wear and may have been an heirloom. No matter when or where we live, we care about our kids.


Kathleen and Alanna took part in all of the activities in the museum. I was teasing them that they were meant for children, so Brother Kathleen pointed out that the dress up costumes were in adult sizes. You don't mess with Brother Kathleen.

We are moving into the Medieval era. This is a corbel in the shape of a pope.

This grave is in the Parish Church -- but the explanation is in the museum. This man is buried alongside his FOUR wives, (a Katherine, two Margarets and a Joan). They pointed out that women had a much huigher death rate than men did -- so often it was only the oldest male in the family that would marry. And marry. And marry again.

Alanna and a breed known as the Cotswold lion.

Moving along to the Parish Church now. This is a family tomb, with the grieving daughters joining their parents years later.

On one side of the lady chapel, is this pious family and their eleven children. The alter blocks the view of the other side.

Thomas Morgan, on the other side of the lady chapel, is more relaxed about death. He seems to say, "I'm dead, but it's all good."

Here you can see two different ceilings. The dark panelled ceiling in the lady chapel is the original 12th Century church, and here you can see the ceiling in the St. Matthew chapel.

A rediscovered fresco from the 14th century chapel.

The Ann Boleyn cup. It was made for her by Henry VIII, and it passed to her daughter, Elizabeth, who presented it to her personal physician, who was allowed to purchase land from the crown in this area.

These are memorial tablets. Mr. Paine was on the wrong side in the Civil War, and the citizens of Cirecester were kept in the church overnight, then marched to Oxford. When they pledged their allegiance to the king, they were allowed to return home -- except for their leaders, like Mr. Paine.

This was the connecting corridor to the abbey (now gone, and the lands sold to Queen Elizabeth's physician). There were some offices above, which then became the town hall.