Cathedrals and markets: they’ve shadowed each other down the centuries.
After that whole turning-over-the-tables-in-the-temple business in the New Testament, you’d have thought Christians would be fairly unequivocal about avoiding commerce. But even Clergy must eat, and great ancestral piles of holy stone must be shored up and prevented from toppling onto the local populace. Ideally they must be fit for services too, and all this takes money. Wonga. Hard, cold cash.
Since England can remember, markets would be held close to cathedrals and churches. There were rents to be taken and tidy sums to be made by men of the cloth who had a pragmatic head on their shoulders.
There was even a special ‘tolbooth’ housing a court which policed the market in many cases. In 1285 the markets were banned from churchyards, but the market was never far away.
Today I saw one.
It must be very good for business. Winchester Cathedral Close is engulfed, swarming in tourists even on a weekday as they file past little alpine sheds stuffed with good things for those who have the cash.
For someone with a full purse it must be a wonderland: crafts of every conceivable type, all with a Christmas theme. Even nuns from Minsk, Russia have made their way to set up stalls here, selling presents to Western capitalist families. Pottery, candles, jewels, trinkets, chestnuts, candy floss, you name it, it is there, with a gleaming ice rink as its centrepiece.
What the good folks who live in the Close must think, I really don’t know. Their normally idyllic view across the Close to the Cathedral is now interrupted by hordes of tourists; the sound of bells is drowned by Christmas carols and the bustle of the crowds.
It is a rude transformation.
Yet was is a visual feast, on this clear blue warm day on our arrival, and everyone was enjoying themselves. Maddie disappeared to buy presents and I returned to our meeting place to find her delightedly tucking into a huge swathe of candy floss, having purchased a Christmas present and a perfumed candle.
“Do you mind if we wander away?” I asked her; and she was delighted. It was not difficult to stroll towards the old city walls and disappear from all that buying and selling. As we wandered out of Kingsgate, one of the ancient gates in the city walls, I realised I had never, in all my years, visited the church over the city gate. We wandered upstairs, and all was deserted. This ancient little gabled church sat in the city wall with the sun streaming through its windows and we pottered round, inspecting.
Back down the narrow old stairs and out, past the house where Jane Austen died, to the river.
Winchester Water Meadows are part of Winchester College, founded in 1382 by William of Wykeham. The natural river has been diverted in a series of small channels so the ground around is fertile and green, and salmon spawn in its waters abundantly.
It is, even in the dead of Winter, quite simply, an English paradise.
And there, at a fork in the channel, was a grave grey heron; and by her side sat her perfect small white offspring.
The little heron was still skittish. Mother melted away, but Small flew from spot to spot along the bank, drawing us far away from the commerce into an entrancing English afternoon. He disappeared for a while, but was soon back, closer to the city this time, playing with water which glistened in the sunlight as he tossed it up in the air.
He was a wraith who seemed to tell us: this is what matters. This is where you need to be. Put that other stuff behind you.
There’s always the internet for shopping, after all.
If you ever get the chance to tread those meadows, do.
They draw one away from the material world.
Kate Shrewsday 
So many wonderful places to investigate 🙂 and your photos are terrific (glad you didn’t get ‘locked in’ – haha – imagine that happening!)
It would have been my greatest pleasure to ring the bell, Gabrielle 😀
Gabrielle got to it first, but I was going to also comment on the humor of the sign about being locked in! Imagine! I loved the photo of the heron taking flight. I love the outdoor setting of the shop stalls and the eclectic holiday offerings, but I, too, wouldn’t be able to resist the pull towards the beauty of the English countryside. What a lovely day. I note–NO rain! 🙂 The church is charming!
No rain indeed, Debra: it was just a perfect day, the light was incredible. I can’t remember the last time I had that kind of light in Winchester. Wonderful.
What a lovely shared day, Kate. Thanks for letting us join you.
Thanks for reading, Myfanwy 🙂
Your photos are wonderful… and so is the festive spirit in the air 🙂
It is everywhere, Jas 🙂
I get such mixed feelings about this time of year and all the commercial stuff – great and interesting post.
It’s nice to give presents but the acquiring is hard, Julie…
You make it all sound so perfectly wonderful, not ordinary at all. And I do love your flying heron photo. Great catch.
It wasn’t ordinary, Jennifer: it was a golden day 🙂
Lovely photos, juxtaposing the peace and quiet of country with the bustle of market; just excellent.
Thanks, Lou. I wanted you all to experience the change, between market and country. Very striking. And that heron: just gorgeous!
I avoid everything this time of year if possible 🙂
Me too, Tandy. It’s good to keep away from it all.
A storybook day, Kate. That sky is stunning, along with everything else.
I never thought about how disruptive those markets must be to the people living around them.
It was a storybook day, Andra. That is the perfect expression for it.
I used to know the organist who lived across the close from the cathedral. I can only think he would have given the market short shrift.
Lovely post. I’ve never seen a young heron such as that, although there is always a heron on the pond at the end of the lane. Probably wise in France as I bet there are a few good recipes for tiny heron en croute:)
Probably, Roger 😀
It seems from the telling, that the one complements the other, or maybe balances? Such boisterous, and yes disruptive, gorging for the senses coexisting with the meadow and the heron, throwing one another into relief.
You’re right, Cameron. The market was fun. But the serenity of the country was profound where the market was transient.
“Since England can remember, markets would be held close to cathedrals and churches.”—It’s all about location, location, location… 😉
😀 It is, Carrie! Inside the cathedrals were meeting and greeting places, where livestock could be brought- very different from the serene rows of chairs we see today.
The countryside and the heron are enchanting. But the market is very festive. I like the Russian dolls and the decorations. Didn’t the cathedrals give licenses for the markets in medieval times? That’s where people always did a land office business selling pieces of the True Cross to the shoppers:)
I love the photos of the heron. I’m always on the lookout for Great Blue Heron. But I also love the egret, heron, ibis, and roseatta spoonbill. I don’t blame you for enjoying nature and leaving the shopping for another day.
Your photos are wonderful, Kate. I could look at them again and again.
Some churches in Chicago still have vendors selling the Sunday papers, candles and sweets outside after Sunday services.
I’m glad that Maddie had a chance to purchase gifts of glad tiding . . . before joining you creekside. Lovely getaway. 😀
In my book, there’s no better place to be for Christmas than England. I would get locked in on purpose just to ring that bell 😀
Looks like commercialization does not leave anything untouched. That is my biggest grouse — festivals are turned into circuses these days.