‘Our Grail Quest Continues, seeking out the places in these lands that were important to ‘Arthur’ and ‘Lancelot’; following in their footsteps and knowing them and their journeys too…’

QUEST 31: Travelling around the beautiful lands of the south-west was amazing and was everything we had hoped it would be, despite the very intense heat, and being so thankful for air conditioning in the car, our quest was a triumph where much knowledge was assimilated and new places explored. All the apartments stayed in whilst journying had been more than up to scratch and the places visited and knowledge gained has been second to non. As said before, our quests are all for an ultimate purpose within the transitioning sphere of time; past, present and future becoming one as knowledge gainrd becomes personal power…

DAY ONE: FRIDAY 31ST JULY: CIRENCESTER:  With the boundaries of Cambridge left miles behind us, we escaped to the first destination of our quest; the tranquill beauty of Cirencester, a market town in Gloucestershire, 80 miles west of London. Cirencester lies on the  River Churn, a tributary of the Thames, and is the largest town in the Cotswolds. The Roman name for the town was Corinium which is thought to have been associated with the ancient British tribe of the Dobunni, having the same root word as the River Church. The earliest known reference to the town was by Ptolemy in AD 150. I had never been to Cirencester before and it was much prettier and older than i was expecting, and had a most definite ‘Roman’ feel to it, and the ‘energies’ there reminded me of Autun in France.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cirencester

 

The Roman town of Corinium, now known as Cirencester <click to enlarge>

“FOUND HIS HEART IN JOHN”

CHURCH OF ST JOHN THE BAPTIST:  Sadly closed due to the virus; a situation that was to follow us around on this quest, we never the less did what we needed to do… The church is a medieval Church of England parish church, and is the largest in Gloucestershire.  Some parts date from the 12th century, though most is from the 15th and 16th centuries, of the perpendicular gothic style. The chancel is the oldest part of the church; construction starting around 1115. To the north of the chancel is St Catherines Chapel, which dates from around 1150 and contains a wall painting of St Christopher carrying the Christ child and vaulting given by Abbot John Hakebourne (whom liked to be simply called John), in 1508. The church was originally part of a monastery (Augustinian), founded here by Henry I in 1117, on the site of an earlier Saxon church replacing an ancient Roman settlement. Because of its size, grandeur and historical importance, the church is known, informally, as the Cathedral of the Cotswolds, and is constructed out of the local yellowish Cotswold limestone, which illuminates lovely in the sun.

Besides the tall tower, the exterior is also notable for the south porch, originally a separate, administration building, connected to the church in the 18th century. The church interior includes five chapels and an assortment of historical artefacts including a 14th century font, a 15th century pulpit, fragments of wall paintings, coats of arms, a collection of tombs and memorials, often very ornate, and the Anne Boleyn cup, given by Anne to a local doctor (Richard Master) who treated her, and presented to the church in 1561. Sadly non of these artifacts did we see due to the church being closed but we took some good exterior photos.

St John the Baptist Church Cirencester <please click to enlarge>

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Church_of_St._John_the_Baptist,_Cirencester

https://www.uksouthwest.net/gloucestershire/church-of-st-john-baptist-cirencester/

Grail Bloodline Connections:

‘UNDERSTOOD THE ROMAN CONNECTION’

THE ROMAN AMPHITHEATRE: Just a short drive from the main town centre is to be found the wonderful Roman Amphitheatre, which would become in time, the second largest in the UK. Archeological digs have uncovered earthworks revealing the outline of the construction, with the banking reaching 25 feet from the bottom of the arena. The arena itself is approximately 150 feet by 135 feet. Roman artefacts including coins and pottery have been discovered on the site. It is estimated that it was constructed towards the beginning of the 2nd century. The earthworks show evidence of tiered wooden seating, for around 8000 people, placed upon a terraces of stone, although a timber only structure may have existed before the 2nd century. There are two entrances, located at the North-Eastern and South-Western ends of the stadium. During the 5th century, when the Western Roman Empire was under attack and soldiers returned to Rome to defend it, the amphitheatre was fortified to defend against the invading Saxons. Unlike other amphitheatres, it is aligned in parallel to the streets of the town itself. It has also been referred to as the ‘Bull Ring’ due to the ‘sport’ of bull baiting taking place there; yet also ‘human sport’ would have taken place there too. It also has one or two other secrets hidden in plain sight within the arena itself; the Romans of course understanding completely the geo-magnetics of this site…

Corinium’s Amphitheatre <plese click to enlarge>

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cirencester_Amphitheatre

https://www.english-heritage.org.uk/visit/places/cirencester-amphitheatre/history/

‘See our video below for a trip to the Roman Amphitheatre’

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nKjdx036OHA

GRAIL BLOODLINE CONNECTIONS:

  • James Fordham: 1697 Ware Herts (9 x GGF) ‘Understood the Roman Connection’

So after a very long and busy day we had a lovely meal and coffee in Cirencester, using the (then) new phone scanning method of ordering and paying, before retiring to our very nice apartment for the night.

DAY TWO: SATURDAY 1ST AUGUST: BATH AND AVEBURY. Because of the restrictions of covid we had booked in a time slot for the Roman Baths in the beautiful Roman city of Bath which in many ways is not unlike Cambridge. Bath is the largest city in Somerset, known for and named after the Roman-built baths.  The city became a spa  known as Aquae Sulis (“the waters of Sul”) c. 60 AD when the Romans built baths and a temple in the valley of the River Avon, although  hot springs were known even before then.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bath,_Somerset

‘OF SECRET MEETINGS’

THE ROMAN BATHS: It was an extremly hot day and we were so greatful to be queing in the shade of the baths entrance, albeit only for a short while. Navigating the labyrinth of the baths proved to be very challenging due to covid distancing, and although it meant only a few people in any one space at any one time, it did mean movement around the baths was very slow. The baths are very well-preserved and certainly worth a visit. A temple was constructed on the site between 60-70CE in the first few decades of Roman Britain and its presence led to the development of the small Roman settlement known as Aquae Sulis, around the site. The Roman baths, designed for public bathing were used until the end of the Roman rule in Britain in the 5th Century CE. According to the Anglo Saxon Chronocle, the original Roman baths were in ruins a century later but the area around the natural springs was redeveloped several times during the Early and Late Middle Ages. Although i have visited the Roman Baths before, they never cease to amaze me and I wondered upon, what meetings and social occasions must have been held here; many a secret assignations too… Some even say that this was the place where secret meetings were held with King Henry VI himself, in the year 1459 – what were these meetings about i wonder. A hot sacred spring fed from below ground, the Penyquick fault, where ‘fault lines’ hold their own secrets too, looked very inviting…. This was also a place of worship by the Celts, so always sacred and special throughout the years.

The amazing Roman Baths, where new bathing areas are still being discovered were a place of social activity and shall we say ‘fun’ and where a hot spring bubbles up an from underground fault <please click on an image to enlarge>

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roman_Baths_(Bath)

https://www.romanbaths.co.uk/

GRAIL BLOODLINE CONNECTIONS: Barron George Neville: 1440 Aberganveny (14 xGGF) ‘Of secret meetings’

“A MEETING HELD IN SECRET”   “A SECRET TO TELL”

BATH ABBEY & ST THOMAS CHURCH Both sites over time would have had many secrets to keep and maybe keen ears overhearing secrets whispered in the pews would have voved never to tell. One of these meetings held in secret at Bath Abbey was with a king with Jacobs Ladder upon their lips, a meeting so to ‘enhance’ the Ladder, but sadly today due again to ‘Miss Rona’ and social distancing, entry into the Abbey was via a very long queue in sweltering sunshine, which was not possible to do. The abbey is a parish church of the Church of England and a former Benedictine monastery. It was founded in the 7th century and was reorganised in the 10th century and rebuilt in the 12th and 16th centuries; major restoration work was carried out by Sir George Gilbery Scott in the 1860s. It is one of the largest examples of Perpendicular Gothic Architecture in the West Country. Although we were unable to enter in we made notes of the important features of both ‘Jacobs Ladder’ and also the ‘Tree of Life’, both very significant on a Craft level, upon both sides of the entrance to the Abbey.

 

Bath Abbey showing ‘Jacobs Ladder’ and the ‘Tree of Life’ <please click to enlarge>

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bath_Abbey

GRAIL BLOODLINE CONNECTIONS: Barron George Neville: 1440 Aberganveny (14 xGGF)‘A meetig held in secret’

Sadly in respect of St Thomas Church, tucked away on a quite hillside just outside the main centre of Bath (blink and you would miss it) in a very peaceful spot, we yet again found G-ds doors well and truly locked, so lovely exterior photos were all we could manage. St Thomas à Becket Church is a parish church of  Widcombe, Bath and is one of a number of churches named after Thomas Becket and a Grade II listed building. The church was built between 1490 and 1498 by John Cantlow, Prior of Bath Abbey and took the place of an older Norman church. However, there was a common tradition that a weaver was the founder of the church, and an escutcheon bearing a weaver’s shuttle can be seen on the outside of one of the north battlements of the tower. It is believed that there was originally a Saxon chapel on the site. The church was commonly called Old Widcombe Church and used to be the principal church of the parishes of Widcombe and Lyncombe. The Domesday survey of 1086 shows a small settlement around the church although no trace of it remains. the wardens of St Thomas’s.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St_Thomas_%C3%A0_Becket_Church,_Widcombe

https://www.batharchives.co.uk/cemeteries/st-thomas-%C3%A0-becket-and-st-marks-widcombe

St Thomas Church where there are writtings hidden within this church <please click to enlarge>

GRAIL BLOODLINE CONNECTIONS:

  • Barron Edward Neville: 1518 Newton Somerset (12 x GGF) ‘A secret to tell’
  • St Thomas Beckett: Archbishop of Canterbury from 1162; murdered by followers of King Henry II in 1170

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Becket

‘UNDERSTOOD THE IMPORTANCE OF A COLLECTION’

AVEBURY STONE CIRCLE: Thought by many to have ‘pagan’ connections, this enigmatic site may in fact have other secrets to tell, other stories hidden firmly in time with similarities to other significant sites recently visited and connecting to our Craft Quests. Here at Avebury in the beautiful countryside of Wiltshire, important messages were given and recieved (for me), messages that will change my outlook for ever and will forever have far reaching effects (for me) in this physical world. Of course i had been to Avebury on a few occasions before for different reasons, but this time with fresh eyes wide open i saw a very different Avebury indeed, and those marvelous structures whispered a few secrets to me of past times, past ocurences and past peoples. Avebury Stone circle in Wiltshire, contains the largest megalithic stone circle in the world and is a place of many pilgrimages and rituals alike, for modern day pagans. Yet its history does not connect to the pagan world or pagan ways and is certainly not what it is commonly thought to be (even though many say its original purpose is unknown. It was constructed in a different time period than is usually thought; the following link is here for reference only, and the true history and purpose of the site is different than many previously think. It was a lovely day out and the structures were shimmering in the sunshine.

https://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/avebury

https://www.english-heritage.org.uk/visit/places/avebury/

Avebury: modelled to be ‘The Stones of Time’ and created in 3,000 BC (5K years ago) <please click to enlarge>

GRAIL BLOODLINE CONNECTIONS:

  • Sir John H. Fordam: 1423 Kelshal Hertfordshire 918 x GGF) ‘Understood the importance of a collection’

‘Watch our video of our Quest so far: the round up with lots of interesting facts’

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vdVNWRNvFnQ

“A day where more pieces of the Grail puzzle fell into place and a time and history previously thought known was scattered as ashes to the sands of time”

“The Keeper of Scrolls” September 2020

‘moon.willow@ntlworld.com’

Next: Day three and four: On the Dartmoor trail…..