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Monday, 4 April 2011

Visit to Tupholme Abbey (2)

We last visited Tupholme Abbey (http://www.lincsheritage.org/) in September 2009 and I added it as a blog post on 8th September 2009. Last Saturday we decided, on a bit of a whim, to head off to Horncastle for the afternoon and on the way back, we stopped off at the Abbey again. Originally it was a huge place, with an Abbey Church, Cloisters, and all the other accoutrements required for a monastic complex. However, it fell foul of Henry VIII's Dissolution of the Monasteries (he has a lot to answer for) and the buildings were sold off and made into a Tudor mansion, subsequently demolished. The only part of the Abbey that remains is the refectory wall. At one end are the remains of a Victorian house and at the other, a Georgian house. Around the area, there are many pieces of beautifully worked stones, just randomly left on the ground. Even though there is not that much left, there is a strong feeling of peace and tranquility and we thoroughly enjoyed our visit.
This willow sculpture of an eel catcher with a string of fish in his hand was a new addition to the pond areas.

Looking through the Victorian house down the range of the remaining building.

Looking out through the Georgian window frame onto the quiet Lincolnshire fields.

2 comments:

  1. Imagine what that Abbey looked like before Henry had it demolished! Our national televison (CBC) just finished a series of 5 Seasons, called The Tudors and it was excellent. If you ever get a chance to see it, it was well done with Jonathan Rhyes Meyers as Henry. Still lots of snow on the ground, hopefully, in a few weeks, it will feel and look like spring.

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  2. Dear Julie
    Thank you for your comment - it's always nice to hear from you. At Tupholme, there were some interpretation boards giving an artist's impression of the abbey and it covered a large area originally. We have had The Tudors series over here too. Sorry to hear that you still have snow - it can't last too much longer now, can it?

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