Christmas Eve moon

I managed to get a quick shot of the moon on Christmas Eve, but sadly the sky was full of clouds.

Sunset at Attingham Park

I went to see what the water level was like at Attingham Park and was lucky to see a lovely sunset. It made a great change from the rain!

St. Mary's the Virgin, Shrewsbury

Stained glass in St. Mary's the Virgin, St. Mary's Street, Shrewsbury.  David Evans of the Shrewsbury glass firm Betton and Evans did most of the work on the widows in the vestry, which is now the cafe. John Bettor (1765 -1849) started making stained glass in 1806 and David Evans became his apprentice in 1815. After Betton's death Evans continued to work under the name of the firm, assisted by his two sons Charles and William.  Betton and Evans were commissioned in 1822 to restore the Tree of Jesse window in Winchester but they found it impossible and made a copy of the window retain the originals glass.

 

Christmas Trees

I thought it was an opportunity to look at Christmas trees today and I visited St. Chad's in Shrewsbury were I found a wonderful display of trees that were decorated and lit creatively making for a splendid Christmas atmosphere. There was a music practice for the carol concert of Nine Lessons and Carols by candlelight which will be held on Sunday 20 December. The mellow music notes were a delight as I wondered around the trees with my camera.

 


 

Shrewsbury water levels

A few jobs to do with a time limit so with camera in hand I captured the day.  There was the flooding of the river Severn creating havoc in the Quarry and the Weir was unrecognisable with bursting banks and the road closed.

 

Battle of Shrewsbury 21 July 1403

This morning I joined a guided battlefield walk organised by English Heritage, it was dark and it rained unlike the weather in Medieval England in July 1403.

The Battle of Shrewsbury was fought on 21 July 1403, waged between an army led by the Lancastrian King, Henry IV, and a rebel army led by Henry "Harry Hotspur" Percy from Northumberland. The battle was significant in military terms as it was the first occasion where massed troops armed with the longbow were fitted against each other on English soil, in the tactical formations that would be so effective in the coming decades against the French.  The effectiveness of this tactical use of the weapon was apparent to all.  I learnt Longbows were very expensive to make and if injured by one, the only way to remove it was to pull the head in the direction it had travelled!

It was a victory for King Henry IV and  St Mary Magdalene, Battlefield church was built within a few years of the battle at the behest of him "for the souls of those who fell". (1,600). An image of King Henry IV can be seen above the East window and there are some interesting gargoyles. The remains of the village Manor and moat is now a hotel and restaurant Albright Hussey Manor Hotel.

St Mary Magdalene church was restored in 1860 by a local architect Samuel Pountney Smith. Although he kept the original shape, tower and walls, the hammer beam roof, reredos, fittings and furniture were installed by him.  The stained glass, typical of 1860 is also attributed to his restoration plan. This would explain the vivid palette of colour. A commemorative service is held on the anniversary of the battle in the church.

Atcham, Shropshire

As I was driving back to Shrewsbury through Atcham on a windy Saturday morning I noticed the River Severn had burst its banks.

 

Cambridge - an evening walk

Before setting off to King's chapel Alan and I decided to test the Chelsea buns in Fitzbillies, and luckily they passed the quality test.  Delicious and apparently no calories! Unfortunately we were not made welcome at King's as they were in evensong service-mode and so we reverted to the streets to take some night-shots. We knew tripods were forbidden in King's chapel so the following shots were all hand held.   I did miss my tripod...