Bath Abbey, the last of England's great medieval churches, dominates the heart of the city of Bath; during the past twelve and a half centuries, three different churches have stood on this site:
There was an Anglo-Saxon Abbey Church dating from 757,but this was pulled down by the Norman conquerors of England soon after 1066. Later a massive Norman cathedral was begun about 1090. However, it was too large for the monastery to afford to maintain and by the end of the 15th century was in ruins.
The present Abbey church was founded in 1499, by Oliver King, Bishop of Bath and Wells. When the Bishop visited Bath in 1499 he was shocked to find this famous church in ruins. He took a year to consider what action to take, before writing to the Prior of Bath in October 1500 to explain that a large amount of the priory income would be dedicated to rebuilding the cathedral. Work probably began the following spring and the restoration of the cathedral was completed just a few years before the Dissolution of the Monasteries in 1539.
After the dissolution of the monasteries in 1539 by order of Henry VIII, it was finally completed in 1611.
There is a beautiful story associated with the founding of the Abbey. It is said that the bishop had a nocturnal vision of angels climbing ladders to heaven. As he stood before the ladders in amazement, he heard voices saying that an olive should establish the crown and that a king should restore the church.
The West Front of the Abbey depicts that famous dream.
2 comments:
What brilliant photos - the angels are amazing!
Thank you! All the credit goes to our two Herald Journalist visitors. We love the photos too, and we hope to post more of them in the weeks to come. We will pass on your kind comments.
By the way, we have just checked out your very interesting site. Anyone interested in English (British) Catholic history will find it fascinating.
Post a Comment