Ashwell Church

Today I was cycling in the Bedfordshire/Cambridgeshire borders, and visited the church in Ashwell. Services are taking place again now and it was good to hear music drifting across the churchyard as I wandered around.

As usual I was looking for the quiet corners and I found it with this upturned wheelbarrow on a compost heap. It reminded me that there is a cycle of life continuing in this place.

The church at Ashwell has added poignancy in this day and age. It contains some graffiti on one of the walls inside. I was not able to view it today but, from Wikipedia, the text says:

“MCT Expente miseranda ferox, violenta Superest plebs pessima testis, MCCCL”

which translates as:

“1350 Miserable, wild, distracted 1350
The dregs of the mob alone survive to witness”

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Church_of_St_Mary_the_Virgin,_Ashwell#Ashwell_Graffiti

1350 was in the period when the Black Death swept across Europe. It is a reminder that beneath the seemingly tranquil countryside something darker lurks.

A corner of Ashwell Church in Hertfordshire

Published by Stephen Taylor

Freelance e-learning developer and instructional designer, photographer and cyclist

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