WI NTER I S SUE | APR I L 2 0 2 5 6 Shapwick History Group JOHN ANDERSON A Guide’s Guide to Wells Cathedral Don’t tell anyone (especially anyone in Shapwick History Group), but aside from school carol concerts I’ve never properly visited Wells Cathedral – you know, the unique, internationally famous Gothic wonder 25 minutes down the road… So I was delighted when Cathedral guide Dr Barry Wratten, kindly offered us an excellent historical overview. Barry has been a guide for over eight years since retiring as headmaster at Churchill School, and his time leading visitors through the building’s medieval corridors and vaulted ceiling spaces provided an enlightening insider’s perspective. The building would have been full of colour - both inside and out - during the Middle Ages, adding an extra dimension to what must have been an awe-inspiring experience for humble village dwellers on pilgrimages and feast day processions. This was just a fraction of Barry’s presentation, so all are welcome to join us for a return visit to Wells Cathedral later this Spring – contact us at history@shapwick.org, find us on FaceBook or check out tours directly at wellscathedral.org.uk/visit/tours. Also, many thanks to Wendy at The Pavilion for looking after us. The talk focused on how the Cathedral came into being, and its continued evolution up to the Reformation. He also added behindthe-scenes observations and practical advice along the way (don’t book a tour during an organ tuning session!). As well as the major architectural developments (such as the famous Scissor Arches, and the twin towers - later additions to the West Front) many less obvious features were pointed out, including the internal flying buttresses, cartoon-strip carvings such as the grape-stealing morality tale, and a sculpted selfie by an unknown C13th stone mason with toothache – all tucked away amongst the explosion of Gothic decoration. Watch the film at shapwickvillage.co.uk/community-groups/history-group Finding it hard because the photos a bFlack and white? Find a flourition of Shapwick News at: https://www.shapwickparishcounci l.org.uk/parish-newsletters/ Sustainability Group STEVE POLDEN As spring arrives, we have a litter pick planned for Sunday 6 April, before the hedgerows have ‘hidden’ all the litter with their new shoots and leaves. We meet at the Cricket Pavilion for 10.00; as usual there will be refreshments at the end. Everyone is welcome: last time we had a great response and cleared nearly ten bags of rubbish from the village. Thank you too if you ‘litter pick’ throughout the year; it does keep the village looking beautiful. th Bag It, Bin It – dog walkers please pick up after your dog. Northbrook Road/Chestnut Lane seem to have a particular issue. We have dog bins around the village or take it home. refrain from ball games etc. on that area, it will help them get established. We will also leave this area of grass largely uncut over the summer. Thank you to the Parish Council and PEN for the funding (see PC report, p. 2). Whilst our application for the thermal camera was accepted, due to high demand we did not get the camera to use. I will reapply in the autumn and keep anyone who expressed an interest on a waiting list for 2025/26. Closer to home, we’re happy to report that ‘Memories of Shapwick’, the interview we filmed with long time resident Dora Watkins (who will be 98 in April) can now be viewed via the village website. The interview was recorded in one sitting in April 2023, and is packed with details of rural life in the 1930s and 40s. If you missed the premiere at the Village Hall last year now’s your chance! Amongst many highlights for interviewer Frank Barnard: Dora’s description of Jan Swayne hiding in a bread oven, only to be discovered and arrested, before escaping on horseback, also that his tombstone is said to lie in the Church porch; the ‘Friesian bird anecdote’; how Blackberry Cottage got its name (kids collecting blackberries mainly for dyeing, not eating); various spooks of course, and how the post office burnt down in suspicious circumstances… To improve the biodiversity of the Village Green, working with the PC and the Polden Environmental Network (PEN), we have planted 300 wild flowers in the area between the path and the stream. We hope that over the spring and summer they will attract insects and other wildlife. We do not want ‘Keep off the Grass’ signs, but if we could
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