Post written by Joanna Robertson, MA student (University of Manchester)
This year’s annual Medieval Society excursion was on Saturday 14th May, and we travelled to North East Wales. And Wales welcomed its Manchester visitors with bright sunshine!
Flint Castle
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| Flint Castle. Photo credit: Hannah Priest |
The first site was
Flint Castle, standing above the saltmarsh and mudflats, along the River Dee, with the Wirral as a backdrop. This strategic position, west of Chester, was where Edward I built his first castle, to support his campaign against the Welsh. Begun in 1277, under the supervision of James of St George, building work continued into the 14th century. Shakespeare reminds us that Richard II gave himself up to Henry Bolingbroke at Flint Castle, after he left the security of another castle at Conwy. Flint Castle is moated, has an outer ward, three circular towers and a free-standing great tower or donjohn. The building stone used was millstone grit ashlar and sandstone and was re-used locally, when parliamentary forces ordered the dismantling of the castle. The adjacent town of Flint was laid out in a grid pattern, still visible as one looks down Church Street.
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| Flint Castle. Photo credit: Hannah Priest |
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| Flint Castle. Photo credit: Hannah Priest |
Maen Achwyfan
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| Maen Achwyfan Cross. Photo credit: Joanna Robertson |
The next visit was to a much smaller stone structure, yet Britain’s tallest wheelcross, at
Maen Achwyfan. It stands in a grass field, inside a fenced enclosure. As it is on the North Wales Pilgrim Trail, a small hidden box contains a stamp for one’s passport! This is a tall, carved stone cross, dated to the 10th or 11th century. The intricate patterns reflect both Viking and Celtic influences and its purpose is still the subject of speculation. It could be a ‘lamentation’ cross or a boundary marker for the Basingwerk Abbey lands.
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| Maen Achwyfan Cross. Photo credit: Hannah Priest |
St Winefride’s Well
Our climb up from the coast and towards Holywell afforded excellent views over the Dee Estuary, now far less navigable than during the medieval period. The town of Holywell, associated with the nearby shrine of St Winefride, was our lunch stop. It has a wide high street, with a weekly market, a right granted to the monks of Basingwerk Abbey. Its many fine Georgian frontages indicate the wealth derived from the industrial past of the Greenfield Valley.
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| St Winefride's Well. Photo credit: Hannah Priest |
A short walk down the valley side brought us to the entrance to
St Winefride’s shrine, still a place of pilgrimage with associated interpretation. Committee member Maureen Mulholland introduced us to Winefride, her rapacious suitor, his beheading her, a gush of water from the spot where her head fell and the restorative powers of her uncle Beuno! The well has been a pilgrimage destination since the 7th century, with visits from royalty. The last monarch to visit was James II, who prayed for a son (although Princess Victoria also visited with her uncle King Leopold of Belgium). The visitor centre is decorated with information panels and discarded crutches from people miraculously cured, having bathed in the waters of the spring. A chapel was built in about 1500, probably for Margaret Beaufort, around three sides of the well and further buildings have been added to the site. Nobody in our party bathed in the large pool but some filled their water bottles from the ‘holy’ tap!
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| St Winefride's Well. Photo credit: Joanna Robertson |
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| St Winefride's Well. Photo credit: Hannah Priest |
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| St Winefride's Well. Photo credit: Hannah Priest |
Basingwerk Abbey
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| Basingwerk Abbey. Photo credit: Hannah Priest |
Our final destination was the
Abbey at Basingwerk. I briefly introduced its history to the group, as I’ve recently completed some research on the site for an MA essay. Founded as a Savigniac house by the powerful baron Ranulf of Chester, it received gifts from both Anglo-Normans and the Welsh. It was richly endowed with lands and assets on the Wirral, in Derbyshire and from across the Kingdom of Gwynedd. The Cistercian style layout is still visible in a tranquil wooded setting. And the nearby Café at the Abbey was a welcome last stop!
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| Basingwerk Abbey. Photo credit: Hannah Priest |
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| Basingwerk Abbey. Photo credit: Hannah Priest |
