1^st May 2019

The river level had dropped overnight, by almost 12 inches, and the ropes had to slackened. The first time we had seen such a change although the river is quite narrow here.

After walking the dog, we went out on our own. There is an Asda within 100 yards of the mooring. The market is about the same distance and the High Street is just beyond Asda, so all shops are easily within walking distance.

We first visited the market, only small but a good range of stalls. We bought prawns, scallops and trout for dinner tonight and arranged to pick it up later in the day. We then went exploring Pershore. It is a quaint place with a nice feel to it although, as with most places, spoilt by the amount of traffic. We first crossed the high street to the Abbey. There has been a Minster at Pershore since the reign of King Aethelred of Mercia (675-704) although the present building dates from about 1100.

The Abbey has suffered badly over the centuries from fire, an earthquake and the dissolution of Henry VIII. Although what remains today is a small remnant of a much larger building, it is imposing all the same. The exterior clearly shows where other buildings had originally joined the surviving part and a significant amount of pink stone, testimony to fire, when the high temperatures cause a chemical reaction that discolours the stone.  

Inside, the Abbey is magnificent and the eye is automatically drawn to the roof with its well-known carved stone bosses. The acoustics in the building were phenomenal, a mere whisper echoed. It must be beautiful to hear singing here.

There are many artefacts inside. The Norman Font was removed in 1840 when a new one was presented to the Abbey. The font was thrown into the churchyard, used as a cattle trough and later as a garden ornament before being returned in 1912. There are decorative tombs of the Hazelwood family, a prominent local family in the 16^th, 17^th and 18^th centuries. An Abbot’s tomb dates from the 1470’s and there is a very rare Crusaders tomb, thought to be that of Sir William de Harley, and although parts are missing, it is in very good condition.

High up in the tower, there is a “ringing platform”, a unique and ingenious feature of the Abbey, installed by the Victorian architect George Gilbert Scott. The wooden platform hangs 100 feet above the floor, supported by beams running across the tower and accessed by a spiral staircase. It must be a heady experience ringing the bells.

     

                                     

                                                                                                 Pershore Abbey                                                             

                                                                              Carved stone bosses in the ceiling      

    

                                                            Looking directly up the tower at the “Ringing Platform”                                    

                                                                                           Rare Crusaders Tomb

We walked through the town which well deserves its boast of a Riverside Georgian town, it claims to have the finest Georgian street in England. There are many Georgian houses with coach entrances and gardens that reach to the river and a good range of independent shops. The butcher had an extensive, mouth-watering display and the greengrocer sold most of their products from within 20 miles. Their boast was that it could be picked in the morning, sold and eaten the same day. They had labels on all their produce stating its origin.

     

There are two bridges that carry the road from Evesham into the town over the river. The older was built in 1413 and carried traffic right up until 1928 when the newer bridge was built. This bridge was the first to be built in Worcestershire of reinforced concrete. The old bridge has a row of cylindrical concrete pillars running across it, about 2 feet in diameter and 3 feet high. Apparently these are World War II defences against German tanks. God forbid had we ever been invaded.

   

Pershore Bridges

We returned to the boat via Asda for a food shop. I put the last red coat of paint on the tiller but it then came on to rain. At Brenda’s suggestion, we put an umbrella over it for protection. We lit the fire for the first time in a few days as it was cold on board last night. We put a heat log on that we had brought from the house, and the smoke from it stank really bad outside.

Had a lovely dinner of scallops and prawns to start, trout with salad and Cornish new potatoes, and strawberries from Fladbury to finish.

Weather: a nice day but chilled off in the afternoon and rained in the evening.