Emma J Wells - Pilgrim Routes of the British Isles

PILGRIM ROUTES

of the

BRITISH ISLES

PILGRIM ROUTES

of the

BRITISH ISLES

EMMA J. WELLS

ROBERT HALE

Contents

Acknowledgements

M any people have helped to shape this book whether through their time or knowledge into what it has become, and I would like to express my gratitude to each and every one. Above all, I am indebted to Jim Brightman for his endless generosity and hard work in creating the map illustrations that structure the entirety of the routes and complement them most beautifully. Without his creativity, imagination and kindness, the end result would not be a patch on what it is. Also, to Alexander Stilwell of Robert Hale, for initally suggesting to me that I write the book, and for his encouragement, patience and help along the Way(s).

Although writing this book has been an extremely enjoyable and rewarding experience, several acts of bad luck have led to some of the greatest acts of kindness. My sincere thanks to Caractacus Potts (Steve Dunn) for going out of his way to help capture some of the fantastic images of Our Lady of Caversham Way and the Pilgrims Trail; to Louise Hampson of the University of York (and the Centre for Christianity and Culture) who helped in sourcing the best images possible; to Matt Champion for lamenting my cause and helping in any way he could; to Dr Martin Locker for kindly allowing me a copy of his thought-provoking manuscript prior to its publication and for the use of his images; to David Ross of Britain Express (www.britainexpress.com) whose stunningly magnificent images are featured throughout this book; to Oliver Howes, creator of the informative and beautifully illustrated website www.oliverscornwall.com, for his fantastic images of the Cornish sites; to Martin Crampin for his images of the Welsh sites; and to all other individuals who kindly allowed me to use their images. To you all, I am forever indebted!

This book could not have been written without a great many people, and to them I am truly appreciative. To my friends, family and colleagues thank you, simply for your support.

Any remaining inconsistencies and errors are thus my own, but every effort has been made to verify facts, where possible. So, too, is the judgement about which of Britains many, many pilgrimage routes to include. Some of my own, and no doubt many readers favourites, had to be relegated but this is the nature of such a vast and interesting subject.

Emma Wells

Yorkshire, March 2014

To my parents, grandparents and to all those
who have aided the journey(s) along the way.

Preface

Give me my scallop-shell of quiet,

My staff of faith to walk upon,

My scrip of joy, immortal diet,

My bottle of salvation,

My gown of glory, hopes true gage;

And thus Ill take my pilgrimage.

from The Passionate Mans Pilgrimage

by Sir Walter Raleigh, c.1603

W andering the many gigantic cathedrals, quaint parish churches and ancient landscapes of Britain has been a lengthy pastime of mine, no doubt a result of growing up in the heart of North Yorkshire surrounded by the many religious institutions that our modern faith was built upon. Many stand as ruins, empty reminders of an era of religious life so grand yet so ephemeral; decaying fragments in the landscape silencing the familiarity of the past. Yet they once housed what can be argued as the main pillar of the religion of our past: the relics and tombs of the saints. And to them virtually every level of society journeyed. This was known as pilgrimage.

While the majority of the shrines that once housed the saints are now gone, forever lost to history, many of the routes leading to them still survive and have resonance with pilgrims and tourists to this very day. But their authenticity as historical routes is very much in question and may be more attributed to popular folklore than fact. Several are believed to be ancient prehistoric trackways and therefore long pre-date their inception or the medieval era when pilgrimage was at its height in this country. Rather, modern-day pilgrims are most often invited to follow byways which pass through outstanding landscapes or by tourism hotspots, rather than the trails followed by pilgrims past.

Nevertheless, it is the links with the histories of the walks that still resonate with people, and the connections with such a plethora of human travel over the course of such a long period of time, however trivial, undoubtedly act as primary catalysts in drawing so many to come and walk them year upon year, from all over the world. And it is these extricable links with the past that this book aims to uncover: the ingrained memories that still survive in both the landscapes and the architecture encountered. It is somewhat of a reappraisal of the paths and their accompanying sites, delving further into their histories whilst allowing the reader to connect with and experience their own journey through a renewed understanding of all aspects that such journeys comprise.

As Robert Macfarlane wrote: For paths run through people as surely as they run through places. And, thus, lets take our pilgrimage

Timeline of Architectural Styles and Periods

Paleolithic/Mesolithic/Neolithic: c.70,0002500 BC

Bronze Age: 2500800 BC

Iron Age: c.800 BC 43 CE

Roman Era: 43410 CE

Anglo-Saxon era: 410 CE 1066

Viking: 8th11th century

Norman: 11th/12th century

Medieval: 10661485

Gothic: 12th16th century

Early English: c.1180c.1250

Decorated: 13th14th century

Perpendicular: 1320searly 16th century

Tudor: 14851603

Renaissance: c. 14501550

Henrician: 15091547

Elizabethan: 15581603

Stuart: 16031714

Jacobean: 16031625 (but largely until mid-17th century)

Commonwealth: 16401660

Restoration: 1649c.1680

William and Mary: 16891702

Queen Anne: 17021714

Georgian: 17141810

Baroque: c.16601720

Palladian/Neo-Classical: c.17151830s

Rococo: 17301780

Regency: 18111830

Victorian (includes Baroque/Gothic): 18371901

Arts and Crafts/Art Nouveau/Art Deco: 18801940

Edwardian: 1901c.1914

Introduction: A History of Pilgrimage

Open a book and youre a pilgrim at the gates of a new city.

Hebrew proverb

T hroughout contemporary and medieval literature, the concept of pilgrimage is thought to have acquired different meanings for different cultures, eras, levels of society and even religions. Accordingly, a precise definition of the term has often eluded scholars but, in essence, historical pilgrimage involved any journey undertaken for a specifically religious purpose and which involved an overnight stay at a pilgrimage centre, particularly the latter. Canon law defined it as a mandatory journey imposed as penance for wrongdoing, or a voluntary act which involved a preliminary vow and both had to be undertaken in the appropriate manner, that is, carrying the pilgrim insignia of scrip and staff. Derived from the Latin peregrinatio, or wandering/travelling around, pilgrimage journeys thus usually have a specific underlying religious intention. On the other hand, the Middle English Dictionary attributes a wide range of meanings to the term pilgrim, from the Latin word peregrinus (per, through, and ager, field, country, land), including: a traveller to a holy place; a wayfarer; an alien/foreigner/stranger/sojourner/exile for the Christian faith; or man or soul as an alien, especially one whose home/destination is heaven.