Selby Abbey

It was very disappointing to arrive at the market in Selby and find that most of the stallholders had already packed up and left and most of those remaining were covered in waterproof covers, all on account of the heavy rain! We did buy some delicious Chelsea/cinnamon buns and a huge sourdough/cheese roll, all locally made.

But this meant that we had much longer to spend in the Abbey, where guides were only too happy to
advise on the many points of interest. We spent a long time discussing the organ, which now has an additional, and mobile, console, which is used when the many visiting organists give recitals. I was surprised to note that, for such an ancient building (founded in 1069) there were no misericords as I do admire the handiwork and humour that these can have. Then I remembered that the abbey suffered a disastrous fire in 1906, so fierce that bells in the central tower melted; misericords would not have survived such heat, neither did the 1340 Tree of Jesse window, which was largely destroyed. However, when in 1891 the window was restored, watercolour copies of each panel were made and were thus a vital reference for local stained glass artists when replacing the glass in 1911, see extra photo.

Main photo of the Rood Screen, choir and high altar.

By mid afternoon the clouds had moved on and sunshine appeared as we pottered round Howden, after a peek at the swing bridge at Goole. Then back to base to dry our brollies and catch up on events from Wimbledon.