A Stop Along The Way

Yesterday, the weather having relented, I was out and about on my bicycle. I was on my way to Thaxted in North Essex, but that's a long way from home so I cut my journey by taking the train some of the way - yes, you can take a bike on the train, all for free and for nothing! Now, would you suppose that, once on the bike, I took the direct route, put my head down and pedalled for all I was worth? No, of course not, I found lots of things along the way. 

We will get to Thaxted eventually, I promise, but not in today's post. Just as far as the village of Widdington where there's something interesting to see, but only on Saturdays, and something else that only happens in the village once every year.

It's not the church; though there will be some later in this series. And it's not the gardens either, though there were some very attractive ones vying for attention.

This one?

             Or this one?


                            OK, both.













What we are here to see is something older, less colourful, only open to view on summer Saturdays but rather special.

Yes, an old barn! Priors' Hall Barn, to be precise. It's one of the finest surviving medieval barns in the country and has been dated to the mid-fifteenth century and although it's obviously needed a little help along the way most of the original oak frame still survives.

And what a magnificent structure it is! Four hundred oak trees are said to have been used in it's construction. It was originally owned by the French priory of St Valery sur Somme, then later by New College in Oxford.

The barn had to be large enough to hold the year's harvest, not just the grain, for in those days the crop was stored as sheaves to be threshed later in the year.

One end of the building has a raised wooden floor which served as the granary once the threshing was done. You can see that the far wall is plastered to make the structure more weather-proof and, if your eyes are particularly sharp, you might see that it's all held together, not with nails or bolts but with wooden pegs or dowels. 

Now it's time we were on our way to the Fleur de Lys pub, not for a beer but to see....

....Morris dancers on tour around the villages. It's all part of Thaxted Morris Weekend. Above are the Thaxted Morris Men and there were many other Morris sides helping them out.

The "horse" belongs to Letchworth Morris. Horses and Fools have long been part of the entertainment and their difficult job is to add to the spectacle and not detract from it. Here's a video of the Cambridge Morris Men, watch out for the Fool and the Horse occasionally joining in the dance. 

And then we'll be on the bike and on our way once again; there're other things to see before we get to Thaxted.


Take care.