CORNWALL AND BEYOND: BRADFORD-on-AVON and BATH

A rainy Friday , planned walk postponed. Back in the car and off we go.

Originally a packhorse bridge, the Old Town Bridge in Bradford-on-Avon was erected in the 13C to replace the "broad ford" that gives the town its name. The Norman side has pointed arches, the newer side has curved arches. In the 17C the bridge was widened, at that time the distinctive lock-up was added . Remember the "Blind Room" lock-up at Lacock? More roomy, this one held two cells with iron cots, and was used as a toll house prior to being converted to an overnight cell.

On top there's a weathervane with a fish on it. Inmates were said to be “below the fish and over the water”, meaning they were locked up for being drunk. Like "four sheets to the wind".

Interior Taken Through the Window

The Freemason's Lodge dates from 1500, note the Compass and the Square lamp post. Isn't this unique?

St Laurence's Church - the Saxon Church - is believed to be the only complete Saxon church in England. Dates are sketchy but it was recorded being built in 900. King Aethelred granted Bradford to the nuns of Shaftesbury in 1001, the architecture suggests to archaeologists that it was built for the nuns in the 11C. Who knows? Apparently, no one, but it's still very cool.

Another scholarly suggestion was as a large and rich stone building for the time it was built to house the relics of Aethelred's brother King Edward the Martyr, which were kept with the nuns. Until its re-discovery in 1856 it had been used as a school, a house, two cottages and a warehouse.

Walking into this little church lets you be an Anglo-Saxon for a a few minutes. It's the real deal!

Services are still held here.

Bradford-on-Avon began life as an Iron Age community over two and a half million years ago. At that time a tribe settled on a site of about six acres of headland with a view of forested hillsides and the marshy river valley. Protected by steep escarpments they lived a primitive life until the Roman occupation.

Now that you could even say this seems like an impossibility to me. The history of human life is totally evident in England. We are here for a short time, best make it good!

View of Bradford

The only timber-framed houses in this stone-built town are in The Shambles, once the market place. They date from Tudor times.

The Shambles

Bradford is home to the B-o-A Walking Festival held every September. Primarily Georgian, it's like a mini-Bath without the mean meter maids.

Tea Break!

The Bridge Tea Rooms is housed in a former
1502 blacksmith shop. It oozes atmosphere and charm. The girls were so nice sending everyone on their way with a cheery "Mind Your Head!"