Category Archives: scotland road trip

Discovering Albion – day 10: Selby Abbey – A Final Blaze…

There is a final jewel at Selby Abbey; the great East Window. I told how the great fire of 1906 had put it in imminent danger of shattering and how a dedicated fire crew had protected the fragile panes with … Continue reading

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Discovering Albion – day 10: Selby Abbey – Faces from the Past

When the church was restored after the fire of 1906, the wooden roof had to be reinstated. Looking up today, you could be forgiven for thinking this is the original work, so faithfully have the beams been reproduced. The bosses, … Continue reading

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Discovering Albion – day 10: Selby Abbey – Phoenix

“From the ashes a fire shall be woken, A light from the shadows shall spring…” Tolkien, Lord of the Rings Just before midnight, October 19th 1906, workers who had been installing a new system in the organ saw flames in … Continue reading

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Discovering Albion – day 10: Selby Abbey – Royalty and the American Flag

Another huge window fills the end wall of the south transept, showing scenes from the early history of the Abbey at Selby. On both walls, the stained glass depicts members of the Royal House; on one side Victoria, Queen and … Continue reading

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Discovering Albion – day 10: Selby Abbey – Interwoven Threads

We walked down the Norman nave, passing Abbot Hugh’s pillar, identical to those at Durham cathedral where we had been the day before. Was it only the previous day? Similar too to the great carved columns of Dunfermline a few … Continue reading

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Discovering Albion – day 10: Selby Abbey ~ Dignity and Memories

The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle of 779 AD mentions a settlement called Seletun. Archaeological remains show it to have been first settled by the Vikings and there was an extensive Roman presence. Today the little town of Selby still straddles the banks … Continue reading

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Discovering Albion – day 10: Back to St Andrews?

Yes, we were heading back to St Andrews… no, not the one in Scotland, sadly… though I would, given half a chance. In fact, I mused, I could pretty much never come home given a camper van and some way … Continue reading

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Discovering Albion – day 9: Over the Moors

We left Whitby, continuing our route southwards through Yorkshire along a road we had travelled together once before. “We’ll have to go to Whitby,” we had said back then. “In winter,” we had added, looking at the steady stream of … Continue reading

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Discovering Albion – day 9: Saints and Snakestones

We walked further up the cliff towards the fourteenth century ‘cross’ that rises from its steps in front of the gatehouse. The Abbey, of course, was closed by the time we got there…if, indeed, it had been open at all … Continue reading

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Discovering Albion – day 9: The Church on the Cliff

The Church of St Mary the Virgin sits high on its cliff above the town. It was founded around 1110 AD, during the time of Abbot William de Percy and the exterior reflects the twelfth century architecture in golden sandstone. … Continue reading

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