32 St Mary’s Lane
Last weekend, to break my journey between South Wales and home in Leeds, I stayed in the lovely old town of Tewkesbury. 32 St Mary’s Lane is tucked away between the main road through town and the River Avon. Beyond the river is a large expanse of flat, grassy land called Severn Ham (‘Q’ mentions it in his poem ‘Upon Eckington Bridge‘) bordered on the other side by the River Severn. The two rivers meet at Tewkesbury and it’s liable to flooding sometimes in summer.
River Avon and Severn Ham
Beyond the main road, on the other side, is the great edifice of Tewkesbury Abbey which dominates the town in the nicest of ways.
The house in St Mary’s Lane was formerly a framework stocking-knitter’s home dating back to the 17th century. The row of cottages, of which no. 32 is one, were in a parlous state by the 1970s and The Landmark Trust stepped in to help a local conservation group who were unable to raise the funds required to restore the houses. No. 32 only joined Landmark’s collection of properties to let in 1982.
Welcome to St Mary’s Lane : The Kitchen
The First Floor Sitting Room
It’s a lovely warm and comfy house on 4 floors each of the upper floors accessed via steep, narrow, twisting staircases; but you soon get used to them! On the ground floor is the kitchen and a cloakroom (and there’s a backyard with picnic table for the summer months), on the first floor is the sitting room, above that is a bedroom and a bathroom and on the fourth floor is another bedroom with magnificent view of the Abbey through one tiny window.
The Abbey from the Top Bedroom – by day
The Abbey from the Top Bedroom – by night
In fact there is another Landmark Trust property in Tewkesbury – The Abbey Gatehouse.
To Battle!
The Battlefield Trail at Tewkesbury (photo)
On Sunday morning, having found a Battle Trail leaflet at the house, I decided to leave its cosy confines and venture out into the cold, windy fields on the edge of Tewkesbury to discover the location of The Bloody Meadow – scene of the Battle of Tewkesbury in 1471 between the House of York and the House of Lancaster saw the death of 2000 soldiers, including Edward, Prince of Wales, who was just 18 years old. It was a defining battle of the Wars of the Roses.
Tewkesbury Abbey from The Battle Trail
Crossing the main road and taking Gander Lane behind the Abbey I soon found the first Battle Trail sign. It was easy to follow and well-waymarked BUT there were some very very muddy parts and at one point I was unable to reach the exit gate from the Bloody Meadow due to two rather frisky-looking ponies. I had to take a detour, give them a wide berth and climb over a fence. There’s an information panel at the Meadow itself and towards the end of the trail is a monument to the town recording important events in the history of Tewkesbury.
The Bloody (and muddy) Meadow
Horses and Mud block the Trail
The Tewkesbury Monument and Abbey at the end of the Trail
Close-up of the Monument
Tea at Lock Cottage
I was pleased to get back to St Mary’s Lane for a wash and brush-up before heading up the M5 to partake of afternoon tea with Landmarking friends who just happened to be staying at Lock Cottage which lies between locks 31 and 32 of the Worcester and Birmingham Canal.
I have to concur with the comment in Lock Cottage Log (Visitors) Book, namely, that “Sitting in the cottage with a cup of tea and watching the boats go by is infinitely preferable to jumping on and off a boat watching the cottages go by.”
I’ve just shown this to Mr N thinking he’d love Lock Cottage.
“Yes, I like the cottage, but I would rather be on the boat watching the cottages go by.” Typical man!
I stayed a few years ago at another canalside cottage – Lengthsmans : http://www.landmarktrust.org.uk/search-and-book/properties/lengthsmans-cottage-8857
and I categorically state that staying in a cottage is preferable to working the locks every few miles (or less!)! It looked like jolly hard work to me. Mr N is welcome!
I’d like to say “good post”, but I didn’t the bit about the Lancastrians being beaten!
Go on, let bygones be bygones! Have been in your neck of the woods today – watch out for future post!
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[…] As a Saxon and Medieval manor it was built atop the southwest side of the town on Holme Hill just above vineyards where the scant ruins of masonry and foundations were still visible in 1836 to Leland and abuts the banks of the River Swilgate. Excavations carried out in 1974-75 revealed and yet destroyed the remaining foundations of a chapel, dovecote, gatehouse, apartments, barns, stables, furnaces and waste dumps. A moated area which is supposed to have been eventually used as fishponds are now barely visible as earthworks with historic aerial photographs but have been leveled and are not immediately apparent from the ground. Bronze age artifacts were found at the site as well. https://miladysboudoir.wordpress.com/2013/03/14/the-battle-of-tewkesbury-the-bloody-muddy-meadow/ […]