Sudden move south

When some of the northern Earls, led by Blessed Thomas Percy, established the celebration of Mass again in Durham Cathedral in the Autumn of 1569, Elizabeth Tudor and her Privy Council were thrown into paroxysms of neurosis. Mary Stuart had to be moved further south so that these northern Catholics would not include her in their enterprise - The Northern Rising.

In November 1569 Mary was moved to Coventry Castle in Warwickshire. Her party stopped overnight in the castle at Ashby-de-la-Zouch, and then passed south to Coventry. Coventry Castle started as a Norman Motte and Bailey structure. This was demolished towards the end of the 1100s but then substantially rebuilt. Mary Stuart was lodged both in the castle itself and in a house near the castle. She would almost certainly have known the great Hall (photo above) which became the Guildhall of Coventry. Later alterations, not least by Parliament after the Civil war, and then the bombing by Hitler's Luftwaffe in 1942, have destroyed all but one small tower of the castle. It is not thought that the Scottish Queen actaully lodged in this tower, which can still be seen. Mary remained in Coventry until 2nd January 1570, when she returned to Tutbury for the third time.

Assorted estates

George Talbot, the earl of Shrewsbury and Mary Stuart's custodian, owned a number of castles and estates in Derbyshire and South Yorkshire. So, when the Queen and her retinue needed their accomodation to be cleaned, or if she was ill, the Earl had a number of places in which she could be lodged.

On 20th April 1569 Mary arrived again at Wingfield Manor from Tutbury and stayed for six months. However, in May she was ill and was brought to Chatsworth House (photo below). She stayed here from 15th May till 1st June 1569 when she returned again to Wingfield.

The Chatsworth that Mary knew is not as it is today; the earlier Elizabethan House was remodelled two centuries later by the Duke of Devonshire, although the inner court today has remnants of its earlier Elizabethan fabric. In Autumn 1569 Mary again returned to Tutbury. 

Trapped in a plot

On 3rd February 1569 Mary Stuart arrived at Tutbury Castle; this was to be her prison, during four extended visits, until Christmas 1585.

She disliked the castle because it was cold and draughty. When I was there recently, although the castle occupies a prominant site overlooking the Derbyshire and Staffordshire countryside for miles in each direction, with magnificent views,  I could see that it would have been exposed to whatever the weather chose to deliver.

The castle would have been a formidable fortress in its day. However, it was remodelled by Charles I in the 1630s when huge classical windows were set into the curitain wall. As a consequence the castle suffered terrible damage in the Civil War when it was besieged by Parlimentarian armies. It suffered further demolishion when the War ended.

The site of the Queen's lodgings is marked; these were discovered when the inner bailey of the castle underwent a historical dig. These lodgings would have been a timber-framed house which was set against the inside of a part of the curtain wall.

Mary Stuart was Catholic and, having been the subject of English State plots from her earliest years, was now totally at the mercy of those plotters. Elizabeth Tudor and her agents were desperately setting up that particular form of the Enlightenment which is the Church of England, as a defensive cultural entity to protect the English State from Catholic truth. Curiously, having become a formalistic culture within the English State, we see today the same Church of England wrestling with its own self-focussed, self-embattled, agenda.

Many in England and beyond knew that Mary Stuart should be free and they placed their hope in the expectation that her confinement would only be temporary. I don't think that anyone then could see just how deeply this form of the Enlightenment was being entered into and forced upon the English, and the hopes of many were vain hopes.

To the centre

On 26th January 1569 Mary was taken from Bolton Castle to be placed in the custody of George Talbot the Earl of Shrewsbury whose estates and houses were in the centre of the country. His principal stronghold was Tutbury Castle near Burton-upon-Trent. This castle was chosen as her next prison since, in south Derbyshire, she would be much further away from the Scottish border, further away from the northern pro-Catholic nobles, and yet still well out of the reach of a French rescue party.

After leaving Bolton Castle she was lodged overnight in Ripon, North Yorkshire, at the Thorpe Prebend House. This house was totally rebuilt in 1609 so we cannot now see the house as it was during Mary's visit.

Following this she lodged, en route, at Pontefract Castle, the principal castle of the north, which was mostly demolished by Parliament after the Civil War. She also stayed at Sheffield Castle, which was totally demolished after the Civil War. Then, moving south see lodged at Walton Hall, south of Chesterfield, on 1st February 1569. This house, which had been the home of the Foljambre family, was rebuilt at the beginning of the 1800s and again we cannot return to the house which Mary visited.

The next morning the party again moved south and stopped for the night, 2nd February 1569, at another of the Earl of Shrewsbury's houses - South Wingfield Manor.

This image made in the early 1800s gives us an idea of what Wingfield would have looked like in the sixteenth century. The Manor is now a ruin but one which these postings will return to, along with Sheffield Castle.

And so, on 3rd February 1569, Mary Stuart arrived at Tutbury Castle and was greeted by the Earl of Shrewsbury, who was to be her Warden for the next fifteen years.

Her Wensleydale sojourn

After stopping at Lowther Castle and then Wharton Hall in July 1568, Mary Stuart arrived at Bolton Castle in North Yorkshire. She would stay here for six months until 26th January 1569. Bolton Castle was chosen because it was the Castle of Henry Lord Scrope, who was the senior English official in the north at that time. At that time, Bolton Castle was one of the most comfortable castles in England; it had a primitive central heating system and the Scottish Queen was shown great hospitality by Lord Scrope's wife. I understand that Mary Stuart's stay is the most important event to have taken place at the Castle.

On route to Yorkshire

On 15th July 1568 Mary Stuart was taken from Carlisle Castle; she was to be installed in Bolton Castle in North Yorkshire. It was thought that Carlisle Castle was too near the Scots' border for comfort. Bolton Castle is some distance away in Wensleydale so, the Queen of Scots was lodged briefly at Lowther Castle (photo above). Lowther Castle in east Cumbria, was the home of the Lowther family, the Earls of Lonsdale.

After a stay of perhaps one night the journey was resumed. The Queen and her party of guardians then stopped at Wharton Hall (photo below). This Hall, the home of the Wharton family, is further south near the town of Kirby Stephen. The fortifications of the Hall were developed in 1544 since the Hall had been beseiged by pilgrims in the 1536 Pilgrimage of Grace.

Again, after a short stay the party, with the captive Queen, made its way into Yorkshire.



A history of imprisonment

For almost nineteen years Mary Stuart, Queen of Scotland, was imprisoned in various places in England by her cousin, Elizabeth Tudor. Indeed, Elizabeth had systematically plotted against Mary Stuart from the time that Elizabeth had become Queen of England; these plots were finally to extinguish the life of Mary Stuart in her judicial murder on 8th February 1587.

The Queen of Scotland fled her realm and arrived in England at Workington on the Lake District coast on 16th May 1568. Two days later she was taken, under the authourity of Elizabeth Tudor to Carlisle Castle (photo above) in Cumbria. Here she would remain for two months before being brought further south into England and away from the Scots border.

Blessed Robert Sutton

I was in the town of Stafford recently and went to find the site of the ancient gallows. It was here that Fr Robert Sutton suffered in 1588.

The site (photo above) is on the Sandon Road north of the town where it crosses the Sandyford Beck (Grid ref. SJ923243). The site is now built up and there is no sign (as far as I could see) commemorating the site of the gallows. 

And so, while Elizabeth Tudor and her sychophants were trying to establish the conditions by which the people of England might be saved, Fr Robert Sutton allowed Christ to demonstrate His love for England and its people, through his self-giving death. Robert Sutton was hung, drwn and quartered here on 27th July 1588. He had been held in Stafford gaol (further down the Sandon Road, opposite the contemporary gaol).

Robert Sutton was born in Burton-on-Trent and became an Anglican minister at Lutterworth. However, he became convicted of the Truth and told his parishioners from the pulpit that he had been teaching them false doctrine for five and a half years, and he asked them to embrace the Catholic Faith. He left England and went to Douai where he was eventually ordained priest in March 1578. Finally, in July 1588 he was arrested in a Catholic house in Stafford and condemned for his priesthood.

It is written of him that the night before he died his gaolers witnessed him deep in prayre and surrounded by a mysterious light. And also that when his quarters were taken down from the public view almost a year after his execution, that the finger and thumb of one hand (and which had held the sacred host) were not in any way corrupted.

Fr Robert Sutton was beatified by Pope John Paul II on 22nd November 1987. During the Beatification Mass at which eighty-five English men and women martyrs were honoured, the Pope said of those who were priests that they had "wished only to feed their people with the Bread of Life and with the Word of the Gospel. To do so meant risking their lives. But for them this price was small compared to the riches they could bring to their people in the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass."

Blessed Robert Sutton, priest of God, may your light and your witness always be an inspiring grace for the people of this country; intercede for us today that the life of Christ may be focus and the whole truth of our lives.  

Irnham Hall

A little further north in Lincolnshire is the village of Irnham. Irnham Hall was the home of the Thimelbys. They too were recusants and built the present Hall in 1510. The family remained at Irnham until 1854 when the Hall was sold. There were possibly a number of hides in the Hall but the north wing was gutted by fire in 1887. However, one hide still remains in the south wing, the oldest part of the house. It is probably the work of Nicholas Owen. The hide is on the first floor and was entered from the attics. It is a space 8ft by 5ft by 5ft 6in and used to have both a ventilation and a feeding hole.

The house is privately owned and, again, is set in the most lovely countryside.

Red Hall

Moving east into southern Lincolnshire in the town of Bourne is the seventeenth century house, Red Hall. The Hall now stands in an open lawn and is run by the local Council. It was closed when I was there. On the first floor there used to be a false-wall hide lit by one of the mullion windows behind. One part of this was merely a discrete place and could be entered from the room, the other part was entered from the top floor. The Hall itself is a lovely example of a small seventeeth century town house and has been restored. I gather that the false-wall of the hide no longer exists. I should like to learn more about its recusant history.

Mrs Vaux of Harrowden

Mrs Elizabeth Vaux of Harrowden is my kind of person. It was she who, towards the end of the sixteenth century, did so much to support priests. She was someone who was very given over to God, very free (which are two ways of saying exactly the same thing.)

Fr John Gerard writes about her in his autobiography and we know that she took enormous risks for God and His church. She declared to Elizabeth Tudor's Privy Council that she would rather die than see a priest undone. I know many people who are like her today. However, there are also today many who are her opposite: readers of "The Tablet", for instance, who in my experience, tend to be stoogy and self-opinionated about the Church.

Elizabeth Vaux worn born in Kent in 1564 to the Roper family. She married George Vaux (1564-1594) of Harrowden. They had six children. When George died in 1594 she devoted her energies to supporting the Church and its priests. Harrowden Hall (photo above) was a real centre of the Faith welcoming many priests, and complete with hiding places. The Harrowden Hall that we see today is the Wellingborough Golf Club House. The three story house which Elizabeth Vaux developed was rebuilt during the period 1716 - 1719. I don't know that any hides now remain.

The other Vaux house, the Manor of Irthingborough, also welcomed priests. Nothing now remains of this house. I took the photo below in Spinney Road, Irthlingborough of the site the Vaux Manor, which would have been to the right of the road as you look up it.  

Towards the end of 1611 Harrowden Hall was raided by Government agents looking for priests; the search was unsuccessful. But Elizabeth Vaux was taken to London and put first in the Gatehouse Prison at Westminster, and then in the Fleet Prison. On 19th February 1612 she was tried and sentenced to life imprisonment and the loss of all her estates. She was paroled in July 1613 for reasons of health and returned to Harroden. In 1616 she left Harrowden and went to live in Boughton, just north of Northampton town. We know that she appeared again before the Privy Council in 1618. Her date of death and her place of burial are unknown. It is presumed, from corresponding historical evidence, that she died in 1625.

What a great example, what a great witness!

 

A much needed separation

This year, the neo-pagan event of Hallow-een took place on Sautrday 27th October, whereas the Vigil of the Christian Feast of All Saints is this evening, 31st October. These two radically different celebrations have long since needed to be separated so that they can be distinguished for what they are: one, a night which beckons to demons and ghouls, the other, a celebration of the grace of Christ in the lives of His Saints.

I would be happy if Christmas were dissasociated from 25th December and celebrated instead on the Sunday following the Fourth Sunday of Advent.

Neo-pagan festivals are on the rise but they have nothing in common with celebration of the Mystery of Christ.

Kirby Hall

In a remote northern corner of Northamptonshire is Kirby Hall; another magnificent example of the English Renaissance. The transformation of the earlier house began in 1575 under the Hatton family and continued throughout the seventeenth century. My interest followed that of Mrs Elizabeth Vaux, the great Catholic lady of Northamptonshire in the early recusant era. Looking for a base for the Catholic mission in that area, which would serve better than her houses in Harroden and Irthlingborough, in March 1599 she took a lease on Kirby Hall. In the summer of that year she came to visit the property with Fr John Gerard, St Nicholas Owen and Hugh Sheldon. Their intention was to fit the property out with hides and conveyences which would enable the concealment of priests and items for the celebration of Mass in the house. However, Elizabeth Tudor's Privy Council got wind of this and raided the house, preventing any further development for Catholic use to take place, and Mrs Vaux abandoned the plan. Fortunately, Mrs Vaux and her three guests curtailed their visit and had left the property before the pursuivants arrived.

The property is now in the care of English Heritage; part is in ruin and part is still an integral building, although no longer a dwelling place. The architecture is fabulous, particularly the grand Elizabethan porch (second photo above). There would have been enormous scope here for the master hide builder, Nicholas Owen, to practice his skills, but no hides were in fact built here. The house is matched by a wonderful Elizabethan garden, and the whole site is set in lovely countryside. More on Mrs Vaux later.

The Tresham trail, part 3

Probably the most famous building which Sir Thomas Tresham had built is the Triangular Lodge. This is located about half a mile to the north west of Rushton Hall on the edge of the Tresham Estate. It is now in the care of English Heritage.

The Lodge is dated 1593 and 1595, the dates of its execution, and is loaded with Christian and Trinitarian symbolism, some of it obviously a play on the Tresham family name itself.

The Triangular Lodge really is a marvellous 3D gesture against Elizabeth Tudor. Not all in the country would become sychophants of her Protestant State, and in the Latin words written on the frieze of the north face of the lodge we see just how deeply that was embraced by Thomas Tresham: "Who will separate us from the love of Christ?"  (Photo below.) Sir Thomas also built the Market Hall in the town of Rothwell nearby. I visited the Hall one evening and saw it floodlit in the centre of the town, but had forgotten to bring my camera.

I should still like to discover where Sir Thomas is buried so that I can visit his memorial.

The Tresham trail, part 2.

To my eye, Rushton Hall, is one of the greatest examples of English Renaissance architecture. It was the home of the Tresham family from 1438. The Hall which we see today was begun in the early sixteenth century. It was altered and enlarged first by Sir Thomas Tresham II in 1595, and later by the Cockayne family in 1626, 1627 and 1630. It was again developed in the ninteenth century.

I fist saw the Hall in the mid-90s when it was a school for blind people. It is now a hotel and well worth catching a glimpse of if your are in the area. On thr first floor of the south-west wing there is a small room which is called the oratory. This room holds the relief panel of the Crucifixion which is dated 1577. This panel was most likely an altar retablo from the chapel of St Peter, which stood next to the house, to the left of the east-front of the house (as you face it). The chapel was pulled down in 1799 by the then owners of the house, the Cockaynes, in order to extend their view from the front of the house. They obviously rescued this retablo and brought it into the main house. I have seen inside this room and am not convinced that it would have been used for Mass in the recusant era. (Unless the later remodelling of the interior of the house altered the original room layout.)

In the cellars there is a now-revealed secret chamber (photo below), but again, I am not convinced that this is a priest hole. It is not memtioned by either Squiers or Hodgetts in their survey of priest holes, and its location would not have made for easy access when danger was near.

There is another secret chamber set into a door frame on the first floor of the house. This chamber is 5ft long and 15 inches wide. It was discovered in 1828 and was full of papers from the time of the Gunpowder plot hidden there by Francis Tresham. These papers are now in the British Library. I did not see this secret chamber. 

Sir Thomas Tresham II died in 1605 here in Rushton Hall. His eldest son, Francis, had some part in the Gunpowder plot and died later that year in the Tower of London. The estate then came to the younger son Lewis Tresham (1575 - 1639) who was a spendthrift. I don't know the family history but the Treshams probably lost the Hall through Lewis' poor administration of the family wealth. The Cockayne family bought the Hall in 1619 and developed it substantially. It is probably through their care for the Hall that it still remains to this day and can be enjoyed by so many people.

Days with priests

I was so pleased to have taken part in the second annual colloqium of the Confraternity of Catholic Clergy. The colloquium took place at the Oratory School outside Reading on Tuesday and Wednesday of this week.

The coming together of over a hundred priests from virtually every Diocese in the country was a tremedous thing; it is so rare for priests to engage in a national event. Thanks go to both the organisers of the Colloquium and to the Oratory School for hosting us.

I was particularly delighted to meet Fr Tim Finegan and Fr Ray Blake for the first time. I read their blogs regularly, but a virtual encounter will never beat a personal one. It was also an unexpected pleasure to meet an Australian friend at this gathering: Bishop Geoffrey Jarrett of Lismore. Yes, I am missing Australia!

The Tresham trail, part 1.

Since my first hearing about Sir Thomas Tresham II I have been a fan; his 3D gestures  (his Catholic buildings) against that hideous tyrant, Elizabeth Tudor, have long claimed my attention. I am speaking about the Sir Thomas Tresham of Northamptonshire, who was born in 1534 and died in 1605.

Sir Thomas was a Catholic and suffered huge fines and a history of interogation and imprisonment for being so. He was also made Prior General of the Knights of Jerusalem in 1557 by Mary Tudor and was knighted by Elizabeth Tudor in 1575. I should like to learn more about him, particularly about his various imprisonments and about where he is buried. Sadly, the old church at Rushton was closed when I was there, preventing me from investigating the Tresham memorials within.

Sir Thomas was a builder and, while in Northamptonshire recently, I went to visit these historic houses. I first called on Lyveden New Beild (photo above), which was begin in 1595 and left unfinished when he died in 1605. The Treshams lived at Rushton in the Manor; Lyvedon was to be their country escape. I don't know that it was ever lived in. From above, the house would form a Greek cross. The continous exterior frieze is laden with Christian motifs. Even the window frames, throughout the house, each represent the cross of Christ.

When I visited work had just begun investigating the extensive moated and un-moated Tudor gardens. It was only realised that there had been a sophistocated Elizabethan garden associated with this house when arial photos, taken by the Luftwaffe in 1941 revealing the designs, were examined. The photo below is taken from a Tudor viewing mound, overlooking the moat, towards a field in which there once was a fascinating and richly planted Elizabethan garden. Indeed, there are letters still existing which Sir Thomas wrote from gaol in which he directs, in a detailed fashion, the garden work then being undertaken. 

Lyveden New Beild is set is the most lovely open landscape. Were it for sale, I would buy and complete it in honour of Christ and Sir Thomas Tresham. It is now looked after by the National Trust. Ring beforehand to check on opening times.



Mary Stuart at Fotheringhay

It is documented that after Mary, Queen of Scots was beheaded, her clothes, the block, scaffold and anything which might have become a relic, was immediately burned in the fireplace of the great hall of the castle. Now, on a recent jorney through Northamptonshire I passed through the lovely town of Oundle and by chance paid a visit to "The Talbot", a pub in the centre of the town. What a surprise I had on entering the pub to be greeted by numerous paintings of the then, rightful heiress to the English throne. And there in the pub itself is the stairway, moved years ago from Fotheringhay Castle, which she walked down from her castle lodgings to its great hall on the morning of her execution (8.2.1587). (Photo above) I imagine that the staircase has been remodelled and probably renewed much since 1587. A member of staff obligingly lead me up the stairs to where a small Tudor window from the castle has been incorporated into the fabic of this pub. The photo below is of one of the paintings of Mary which hang in the pub and which sympathetically represents her descent to the Hall for execution. Even her little dog is portrayed.

If you pass through Oundle I do recommend "The Talbot". Quite apart from its relic of Mary, the pub has very good beer on tap and a fine bill of fare. 

The Catholic house of Oxburgh

After visiting Walsingham I headed south to see Oxburgh Hall. I passed through the village of Grimston, about fifteen miles south of Walsingham. It was here towards the end of 1588 that Fr John Gerard SJ began his priestly mission in England. He was aided by the Yelverton family of Grimston, and through the Yelvertons he met Thomas Bedingfield of Oxburgh Hall. I don't think that anything of the Yelverton Manor of Grimston still remains, although 'Manor Farm' in the village is probably a part of their former Estate.

Oxburgh Hall is about ten miles south of Grimston; this was my second visit to the Hall, although I had forgotton how magnificent this house is. One's first sight of the house on entering into the gardens is quite stunning - the moated Elizabethan manor is a fabulous sight. Although the house and gardens are now administered by the National Trust, the Bedingfield family who have always been Catholic, still live in a part of the house.

The manor houses some impressive embroidery which was made by Mary, Queen of Scots, while she was imprisoned in Tutbury Castle. These pieces of embriodery have been sewn onto a bed hanging and are a one of Oxburgh's treasures.

For many, however, me included, the main treasure is Oxburgh's remaining priest hole. It is one of the best preserved priest holes in the country and is almost certainly the work of St Nicholas Owen. The hole was made in the early 1590s while Fr John Gerard was ministering in Norfolk.

The hole is within the masonry of the left-hand turret of the gate-house. It's pivoting entrance, so well fashioned, is surely the work of Owen. A guide who was on site to introduce visitors to the hole invited me to climb inside. I prefered however to lower my camera down into the hole and take pictures. The below photo shows the inside of the hole, complete with bench and, in the masonry above, a feeding hole. I am not aware of any documentary evidence which speak about the hole's use during the recusancy era.

Another entrance to the hole is through the narrow passage which you can see in the above photo. This entrance/exit lead through to a narrow corridor in the top floor of the house on which there was a room where Mass was celebrated in secret. Sadly this room is off limits to visitors.

It is known that there was another priest hole at Oxburgh. This was thought to have been associated with the Great Hall of the house. From the photo below, taken from the top of the gate house turrets and looking across the central courtyard, you can see where the Great Hall used to be. Sadly it had to be taken down in the 1800s because of its state of deteriortion.

Oxburgh Hall should definitely be on your visiting list; it is wonderful and is a tremedous site of Catholic faith and life in the Norfolk region. Check the opening seasons and times beforehand so that you don't have a wasted journey.

Our Lady of Doncaster

On my way to visit Walsingham recently I pulled off the main route so that I could pass through Doncaster and see the site of the Carmelite Priory which had been one of the pricipal shrines to Our Lady in England. Coming in from the north I stopped first on the (second) bridge over the River Don on the A638. The bridge is modern, but it was on its mediaeval predecessor that, in December 1536, Robert Aske and the other leaders of the Pilgrimage of Grace had met to parly with the Duke of Norfolk. Through the Duke, King Henry VIII had promised to accede to the Pilgrim's petitions, and then to receive assurance that the Pilgrim host would disband. Of course, Henry had no intentions whatsoever of accepting the Pilgrim's petitions and, later the following year after they had disbanded, their trust would end in their being massacred wholesale.

The above photo was taken on the bridge looking north to where the Pilgrim host of about 40,000 would have been mustered. To the south, on the Doncaster side, the Royal army under Norfolk numbered about 4,000 men.

And so, into Doncaster itself. It was a Sunday afternoon when I visited and the town centre was quite busy. I was immediately aware of an austere and somewhat souless atmosphere on the streets. The site of the Carmelite Priory is near the top of the High Street and "Priory Place" runs down what would have been the northern perimeter of the ancient Carmel. Of course nothing remains of the Priory, whose site is now the "Priory Walk" shopping street. Entering Priory Walk from the High Street I could faintly discern that this precinct was the site of the Carmel church and its shrine. On the interior facade of the entrance there are two Carmelite sheilds - all that now denotes the presence of what was once such an important shrine (photo below).

 

 

 

The entance to Priory Walk on the High Street itself conveys nothing of the former significance of this place (photo below). The statue of Our Lady of Doncaster was burned by Thomas Cromwell, along with the other important images of the Blessed Mother, in July 1538, outside his house in Chelsea (Chelsea Manor). A new shrine  of Our Lady of Doncaster has been created in the parish of St Peter's just to the south of the city centre, but if anyone has any historical infomation about the medieval shrine and its original statue, I for one would be glad to learn more.



 

 

Anti-Pilgrim stronghold

Before the great rains hit Yorkshire and swelled its rivers to bursting, I went over the hills to visit Skipton and its castle. As a boy I had been shown the castle but my interest on this occasion was to see the stronghold to which many of the northern gentry had retreated so as to escape becoming a part of the Pilgrimage of Grace. Here Henry Clifford, the earl of Cumberland and Lord Scrope of Bolton Castle, Wensleydale had taken refuge in September 1536. The small garrison was captained by Christopher Aske, the brother of Robert Aske, who was the leading captain of the entire rebellion. In due course, some thousands of Pilgrims from Richmondshire, North Yorkshire arrived in Skipton and endeavoured to acquire the support of the nobles who were secreted within this formidable stronghold. The Pilgrim host laid seige to the castle for about ten days during September/October 1536 and eventually succeeded in recruiting Lord Scrope to their side. In early October Robert Aske was demanding the presence of this Richmondhsire force at the central muster which was taking place at Pontefract castle, and so the Pilgrim army left Skipton and its castle to its Clifford keepers.

The castle was to become a Royalist stronghold in the Civil War and became the object of a much more serious seige and bombardment by Parliamentary forces. However, once through the south-facing outer bailey gates the castle still commands a sense of its tremendous impregnability (photo above).

The castle's northern face is built upon a towering cliff wall (photo below); it is hard to imagine Skipton Castle being assailed at all from the north. The final photo below was taken looking out of the castle and into the main market street in the centre of Skipton. I couldn't find any artefacts or reference in the castle to the Pilgrimage of Grace, but there is a story that Mary, Queen of Scots, was lodged here briefly before being moved to Tutbury Castle. If you are in the area, Skipton Castle is well worth visiting as it is one of the few remaining medieval castles in England, and is perhaps surprisingly still in very good condition.

 

Return to England's Nazareth

After returning from Australia I knew that I should visit Our Lady's Shrine at Walsingham. The Youth2000 Prayer Festival, towards the end of August, afforded me an opportunity. The welcome which I received there from some many young people who knew me was tremendous; a sign of a much greater welcome which I received in the Slipper Chapel itself.

I pay tribute here to the Youth2000 team for the slick way in which they ran the event, and also for the large number of new comers who they attracted to this summer's Festival. It was also very good to encounter a number of representatives of the Ordinariate of Our Lady of Walsingham who were taking part in the event.

One evening during the Festival I was poking around the village and came upon Martyrs Field (photo above) for the first time. This field is just beyond the old railway track and near the Orthodox chapel in Little Walsingham Village. I have long known the story of the 'Walsingham Plot', but have never before visited the field.

The 'Walsingham Plot' took place just before the dissolution of the Augustinian Priory  and the destruction of the Holy House. The plot, which began in November 1536, eventually drew in about thirty conspiritors. They planned to raise the people of north Norfolk, in the same way that the people of Lincolnshire had risen, and in conjunction with the much greater 'Pilgrimage of Grace', and then to muster the larger part of East Anglia so as to challenge the reforming policies of Henry VIII. The conspiracy was leaked to London and within days most of the conspiritors had been arrested and taken to Norwich for trial. Twelve of these were sentenced to death, some to be hung, others to be hung, drawn and quartered. Two of them were brought back to Walsingham to be executed; Canon Nicholas Mileham, the sub-prior of Walsingham Priory, and George Guisborough, a yeoman and chorister of Walsingham village. On Wednesday 30th April 1537 both men were hung, drawn and quartered just outside the village in what is now known as 'Martyrs Field'. Their heads were then placed on the Priory Gatehouse.

Today, an altar stands in the middle of the field - just discernible in the middle of my photo. The cause and the grievances of these man were crushed, as were their lives and the great Shrine of Our Lady. Even so, the naming of the field, and the erection of a simple altar, recognise the greatness of faith in the midst of such foul tyrrany. These two men died before the wrecking of the Shrine; the remaining members of the Augustinian community accepted the dissolution of their priory in the summer of 1538, and witnessed the removal of the statue of Our Lady in July of that year. It was taken to London and, by the end of the month, together with many others, it was burnt in Chelsea in the presence of Thomas Cromwell.

Long may the memory of these men remain. The field is today a farmer's field and sheep were grazing there on the day I visited it. But you can easily find the field and peer through from the road and pathways which surround it. But keep visiting the Slipper Chapel for,according to the 'vision' of Pope Leo XIII, when England returns to Walsingham, Our Lady will return to England.

 

Back on the English Mission

I return to England with the convictions of the Sydney seminarians fresh in my mind: that priests should promote good Liturgy, good preaching and good Catechesis. On each of these counts there is now great potential.

Today's circumstances favour, and need, good Liturgy. The Liturgical movement, which started in the second half of the nineteenth century is essentialy good and has some truly great proponents (Dom Prosper Gueranger, Pope Pius XII, the Fathers of the 2nd V Council), but it was hijacked after the Council by rationalists, who confined it within their own banal and minimalist limits. However, Benedict XVI has today released the Liturgy from the grip of the rationalists, and so the Liturgical movement, as we can now see, is underway again. Good Liturgy is definitely back on the menu!

Today's circumstances favour, and need, good preaching. Firstly, so many seminarians today are themselves convinved of this. And secondly, the way in which the Church today appreciates and enters into Sacred Scripture is being genuinely renewed. We just have to look at the recent Apostolic Letter 'Verbum Domini', and to witness how 'Lectio Divina' is being newly engendered in the Church.

Today's circumstances favour, and need, good Catechesis. By good Catechesis I mean 'full Catechesis' of the Church's teaching. We not only have the CCC but also so many good resources, like 'Evangelium' and the various Maryvale Institute courses. Alongside this we are aware of numerous lay Catholics who are being properly trained as Catechists. Priests themselves are at the forefront of the Catechetical movement.

On my first journey north after landing at Heathrow I found myself leaving the M1 and crossing Northamptonshire in order to join the A1. On seeing a road sign indicating Fotheringhay I left the main road and headed into the country. Long have I wanted to visit the site of Fotheringhay Castle (photo above), the last prison residence and place of execution of Mary Stuart, Queen of Scots, rightful heiress to the English throne. She lived here for little over four months, from late September 1586 to 8th February 1587, when she was judicially murdered by Elizabeth I. It was a beautiful day as I walked grassy mounds where the castle had been, saying the Rosary for the conversion of England, as she must surely have done. The clear waters of the River Nene were full of fish but I had the castle grounds to myself for this visit. I remember her each year as my birthday coincides with the day of her execution, but on this day my thoughts were with all those generations of faithful Catholics who have longed for the re-embracing of the Faith in England, and who lived the life of the Church against fairly desperate odds.

Historical treasures which once belonged to Mary, Queen of Scots are spread far and wide. The Archbishops of Sydney are the custodians of her brevriary (photo below), housed in a special cabinet, which I  once had the privilege to venerate.

After her execution the scafold and the block itself were burnt so that relics could not be had. The castle itself fell into disuse after that day and was eventually pulled down and its stones used elsewhere. The site of the castle is however preserved by the landowner and can be visited any time - it is in a beautiful part of the country. If you are going to be passing the area you should make a visit. The English King Richard III was born here and so it is a place of importance to the 'Richard III Society' also. 

A pristine coast

One of the great attractions of Australia its its pristine coastline, and especially being able to enjoy that coastline from the seaward position. I took every opportunity, when I was in Australia, of getting out on the water. The above photo was taken about 16 months ago when nine seminarians and I took a boat out on Pittwater and crossed to the other side, where we grilled up some fabulous veal t-bones. Here we are drawing the boat up onto the beach - a very apostolic day out!

One of the counsels which I gave to successive year grouos as they prepared for ordination was that, as priests we should make our Eucharistic Lord available for Adoration in our churches, and that we should make ourselves readily available to people in our parishes; available that is for the Sacrament of Absolution and to give spiritual direction. Both these things are easily done and don't require us to do any rushing around, but rather to spend time in our church and in the parish so that people can easily find the Lord and find us. Indeed, this dual availability creates life in a church and in the parish.

Today, the Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross, I offered the Mass for all at the Seminary of the Good Shepherd. Allow Christ's call to keep resonating in your hearts!

Adoption for a second time

Now that I am back in England people are dissappointed that I haven't acquired an Aussie accent; even wearing the Akubra doesn't do it either! I keep telling people that the Aussie accent wasn't at all strong in Sydney. What is far more important to me is the way that I was received in Australia, and the ease with which I adjusted to my new appointment in Sydney.

Prior to moving out to Australia I had already lived for eight years in Spain. Four years in Oz now means that I have lived overseas for twelve years. My second country of adoption, Oz, was really a 'home from home'. The Aussies all loved my English accent! The photo above, in some way, represents the way in which I was received; there I am leading the Remembrance Day service in the grounds of Campion College, a ceremony which is very dear to Australians, and at which I was suddenly presiding.

Another facet of life which I appreciated very much during my time in Australia was the way in which the bishops warmly engaged with their priests. This was something I first experienced when I met the Bishop in whose Diocese I was working, and then again on so many occasions when I encountered other bishops and their priests. The fatherhood of the Australian bishops who I encountered was a special grace to me. 

Priesthood down under

When I became the assistant Spiritual Director at the Seminary of the Good Shepherd my first awareness was of a renewed appreciation, in the seminary, of the Council's teaching on the priesthood in Presbyterorum Ordinis and in Lumen Gentium, and then that the vision of the seminary was firmly based on JPII's great letter Pastores Dabo Vobis. Along with the seminary's own formation document, these teaching documents were my first point of reference.

Secondly, I became aware of how the place of human formation was being engendered in the seminary, and how it was seen as the first foundation of priestly formation. With these lights I was able to begin my work at the seminary.

My work at Campion College, and prior to that, my work in Youth 2000 in England had laid basic foundation stones in me for the mission of confessor and spiritual director. Providence had been at work and I approached this new work of seminary spiritual director in a three-fold way:

Firstly, I guided the individual to appreciate how he was engaging with the concrete life of the seminary at all its different levels.

Secondly, I endeavoured to help the young man appreciate how his own vision of, and desire for, the priesthood was developing in him as he progressed through the seminary. For instance, how he was approaching poverty, chastity and obedience.

Thirdly, my aim was to enable him to recognise, and mature in, the concrete reality of his daily spiritual life, helping him interpret that reality under grace.

What a marvellous task it was, and what a great learning curve it was for me too!

I already attribute my own growth as a confessor to the many confessions of young people of Youth 2000 which I have heard. Now I must pay tribute to the seminarians of the Seminary of the Good Shepherd for enabling me to become a better confessor, one after the heart of Jesus Christ.

I must also pay tribute to them for the way that they are approaching the priesthood. They have a great love for the Church, her Liturgy and her Teaching. And not only that, but I could discern from my first months in the seminary, that there was a desire for good Liturgy, good catechesis and good preaching. Indeed, I could see that the seminarians were discerning in their search for models of diocesan priesthood. The Church in Australia will be very blest when this generation of seminarians embraces the Mission of Christ at Ordination.

For me, a very special grace was being given during all of this time: I was coming to a new awareness of and closeness to the Heart of Jesus when I celebrated the Mass! I began to realise this during my third year in Sydney and I rejoice in this unexpected grace. It seems to me that Christ has waited all this time, and that perhaps I needed to be on the other side of the world in order for me to receive this grace. I wont say more about this now; this grace is very much alive in me and I would rather be the agent of its effects than try to rationalise it.

What I have said here is just the very broad brush-strokes of my years in the Seminary; it was a very rich experience. My God bring to fruition, in Christ's priesthood, all those generous hearts who are offering themselves to Him, and to serve His Church.

My third community in Sydney

After living for one year on campus at Campion College I was invited to live at the Seminary of the Good Shepherd. I was very grateful to the staff of the seminary for this invitation and for the way in which my Australian mission developed in a particularly priestly way. So, as well as my work at Campion College I was now taking part in some of the seminary Liturgies, hearing confessions and giving some evening seminars to the seminarians. And after a second year in Sydney the unexpected happened: I was asked to join the seminary staff full-time and to concentrate my efforts in the preparation of men for the priesthood in Sydney.

My work at the seminary included presiding and preaching at some Liturgies, being a Spiritual Director to individuals, hearing confessions, directing seminarian retreats, giving seminars to the different year groups, giving some liturgical formation and training in preaching.

I had never expected to find myself working in a seminary, still less the seminary of the Archdiocese of Sydney, yet our God is a God of surprises. More than anything that I was able to give to the young men preparing for ordination, the priestly enrichment which I received as a member of staff was utterly grace-filled. I became aware of the great generosity of the young men who were offering themselves to the Church, their desire for Christ and the life of grace, and their desire to embrace Christ’s mission in New South Wales. I was aware of their joy at stepping out of the secular culture and their eagerness to proclaim Christ’s Gospel. And that I should be a part of this enterprise, if only for three years, was enormously renewing for me.

The formation of, and the renewal of the Diocesan Priesthood has, for many years now, had a special place in my outlook, but my part in the life of the Seminary of the Good Shepherd has opened me more strongly to the greatness of the Diocesan Priesthood and the call which it is receiving from the Church today. So much was this the case that I am aware now that my four years in Sydney were in fact an extraordinary time of priestly renewal for me. Most people go out to Australia to work or to tour round; I was brought out by God for an intense experience of priestly life and grace!

My second community in Sydney

When I arrived in Sydney I was driven straight to Campion College where I would reside on campus for a whole year; my first endeavour there was to help build up the student body. On my second day I was visited by two very good friends, John and Niall of the St Patrick's Community in Ireland who had been giving talks during WYD. With them was one of the leaders of the Servants of Jesus Community together with one of his sons. So it was that I came into contact, for the first time, with a Covenant Community.

Extraordianrily the Servants of Jesus Community were based a little over a mile away from the campus of Campion College. They were, at that time, looking for priests who could celebrate a Sunday morning Mass with them. I was happy to oblige. For almost four years I was part of roster of priests who celebrated a Sunday Mass at their centre.

The congregation of some hundreds welcomed me so warmly that a wonderful relationship developed between us - I was very much at home with them. Not only now did I have the community of Campion College to underpin me, but I had a second community with whom I could put down roots. God in his providence is never outdone!

The friendship which developed there was grace-filled. I have never before celebrated the Mass for such a loving, attentive and supportive congregation. I was struck particularly by three features of the community: the way in which they welcomed  and embraced new members, helping them to make strides forward in the life of grace, and secondly by the number of young people, especially young men, who were part of the community and whose life of faith the Community nurtured. Thirdy, I delighted in the number of families who were a part of the Community, and the way in which the formation of the family was engendered, and the atmosphere in which the faith was handed on to younger generations.

Now that I am back in England I will miss my contact with the the Servants of Jesus Community and their support for me. Perhaps God will enable us to do a mission together in the future. After my final Mass for them just a couple of weeks ago our parting was very poignant. I was overwhelmed with their gratitude for my small part in their lives. The above photo shows the cake which they made in my honour and which we eat together before I left. I hope that the Community will go from strength to strength, and that we will all meet again.

A chaplain down under

Arriving at Campion College near Parramatta at the end of July 2008 I was just in time to start the second semester, but I had missed WYD SYD. I remember wondering what God's purposes were, that He had brought me to the other side of the world. Nevertheless, I was keen to be the best priest that I could be to my new but small community at Campion College.

I had heard about Campion College a couple of years earlier, and indeed, I had posted about it on this blog. I was, and am, convinced of the mission of the new Liberal Arts Colleges that have been inaugurated in recent years in various parts of the world. That while much of secular culture is putting its roots behind it, these pioneering places of learning are guardians to an immensely important heritage.

My first delight at Campion College was to be welcomed by, and to get to know the students - my first real contact with Australians. And secondly, to integrate myself as a member of staff so that I could better dispose myself to the mission of being the first full-time chaplain.

The celebration of Holy Mass, adoration, confession, spiritual direction, seminars, trips out and, of course, cooking and BBQing were the staple ingredients of my life. The student community was quite small so I was soon able to get to know the whole student body. It was a huge joy for me to come to know these young Catholics and to experience their hopes and ideals, their faith and their love for Christ and for His Church, and to serve and support their life in the Church. 

As those first weeks went past I began to realise just what a great impact WYD had had on the young Catholics of Sydney. Sydney was aglow with the grace of WYD! I became aware of lots of initiatives, many of them set up by young Catholics, as a response to the Holy Father's presence at WYD in Sydney. I was soon being called upon to take part in events being organised in both Parramatta Diocese and the Sydney Archdiocese. Then, after just two years at the College I was called to take part, full-time, in the preparation of men for the priesthood at the Seminary of the Good Shepherd in Sydney.

I will always be grateful to Campion College for its part in bringing me out to Australia. I hope that my small part in the life of the College at its inception might bear good fruit, and I hope that the College goes from strength to stregth, establishing itself in the great mission of the New Evangelisation.