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'The Revelations of Divine Love', All Hallows Convent, All Hallows House, anchorage, bailey, bomb damage, Castle Gardens, Cell, chickory, Dame Julian, EDP Newspaper Group, Father Raybould, fortified bridge, Julian, Julian Centre, keep, Lady Julian, lady's bedstraw, moat, motte, Norwich Castle, Norwich Museum, St Julian's Church, Whiffler Theatre, wild flowers
Because I am taking E to college each day my routines have had to change to suit her time-table. Up til now I have taken Mum shopping on a Wednesday but on Wednesdays E has a two hour Psychology class and that is all. No time to take Mum shopping, so we have changed to Tuesdays when E is at college til 5 pm. Eventually, we hope that E will be able to spend the rest of Wednesday at college – with friends and working in the library – but as yet she doesn’t have much work to do and wants to come home again fairly quickly. It is not worth my while doing anything other than stay on in Norwich after dropping her off at college – I would hardly get home before having to set off again.
Last Wednesday I had yet more college equipment to get for her and then a visit to the Body Shop was in order to purchase shower gel and other lusciously-scented products. After doing my shopping I still had over an hour to go before I needed to meet E so decided to have another walk-about.
Norwich Castle is an enormous and imposing building. It is built on a large mound or motte and looks so clean and undamaged it could have been built yesterday.
In fact, it was one of the first castles to be built after the Norman Conquest in 1066.
At least 98 Saxon homes were demolished from about 1067 onwards so that the earthworks could be dug within which they built a wooden fort (the Bailey). The fort was surrounded by deep defensive dry ditches. Once the land had settled they began building the stone keep in 1094 during the reign of William ‘Rufus’ II and, following his death in 1100, his brother Henry I completed the building in 1121. It was built as a Palace rather than a fortification but no Norman King ever lived in it. The only time Henry I is known to have stayed in it was at Christmas 1121. The keep is constructed out of limestone imported from Caen in France. Originally, the ground floors were faced in flint which would have been such a contrast to the almost white upper floors.
Wild Carrot and Bladder Campion grow there amongst many others.
The keep was used as the County Gaol from the 14th century onwards. A new gaol designed by Sir John Soane was constructed in and around the keep in 1792-93 but this was soon found to be too small and outdated. The outside block of Soane’s gaol was demolished between 1822-27 and re-designed by William Wilkins. When the County Gaol was moved to Mousehold Heath near Norwich in 1883, work began to convert the castle into a museum which it still is to this day. All the gaol building was demolished leaving the original keep.
I walked through the Castle Gardens which are in the bottom of the dry moat.
This is a small, simple open-air theatre in the Castle Gardens and was given to the people of Norwich by the Eastern Daily Press Newspaper Group. Next to the performing platform is a small thatched building that is used as dressing rooms. If you look at the first photo of the bridge, the dressing room building can be seen beyond the bridge on the left. There is a Whiffler Road in Norwich as well, but I cannot find out anywhere if the road and theatre are named after a specific person. The word ‘whiffler’ has a number of meanings according to the dictionary.
1. One who whiffles or frequently changes his opinion or course. One who uses shifts and evasions in argument, hence a trifler.
2. One who plays on a whiffle; a fifer or piper.
3. The Goldeneye duck is also known as the Whiffler probably because of the whistling sound its wings make in flight.
4. An officer who went before a procession to clear the way by blowing a horn. Any person who marched at the head of a procession. A harbinger. In the 16th century the whiffler was armed with a javelin, battle-axe, sword or staff. An early form of steward involved in crowd control.
Shakespeare’s Henry V: ‘…the deep-mouthed sea, which like a mighty whiffler ‘fore the King seems to prepare his way.’
The ‘Whiffler’ pub in Norwich is named after the ceremonial character so perhaps the road and theatre are too.
I left the Castle grounds and walked down Rouen Road to St Julian’s Alley, on the corner of which is the Julian Centre where books, cards and other merchandise associated with Dame Julian are sold. There is also a reference library which keeps the main books and articles published about her and also a Christian lending library. All Hallows House, also on the corner of the road is a small guest house belonging to All Hallows Convent, Ditchingham which is fairly near to where I live. I went to Ditchingham for a day retreat a number of years ago and it was such a peaceful day. All Hallows House in Norwich is somewhere else to stay for a retreat, as well as a place of study or just somewhere to stay to be near St Julian’s church.
The first time I came here was with A, my eldest daughter and at the time they were preparing for something in the church and had had all the pews removed. A nun was in the church and welcomed us in saying how much she liked the large space left once the seating had been taken out. She said it made her want to dance and she then proceeded to dance round the church. I thought she was wonderful!
To explain who Dame Julian was I will quote from the information leaflet I picked up from the church.
‘Julian of Norwich was the first woman to write a book in English. She wrote it while she was an ‘anchoress’ (a hermit) living in a small room attached to St Julian’s church.
It was quite normal for people to live like this in Julian’s day. Some were monks and nuns, but many were just ordinary men and women who took vows to live a solitary life of prayer and contemplation. They lived in a room beside the church and many people came to them for comfort and advice.
On 8th May 1373, when she was thirty years old, Julian suffered a severe illness from which she almost died. During that illness she received a series of visions of the Passion of Christ and the love of God. When she recovered, she wrote down what she had been taught – perhaps having to learn to read and write in order to do so.
Her book, ‘The Revelations of Divine Love’, took her over 20 years to complete and is today regarded as a spiritual classic throughout the world. Her clear thinking and deep insight speak directly to today’s troubled world.
Her perception that there is no wrath in God, but that this is a projection of our own wrath upon him, is centuries ahead of her time. And her understanding that God’s love is like that of a tender loving mother, as well as that of a father, is also one we can respond to today.’
The church is not what it seems. During the Reformation the cell was totally destroyed by reformers who wanted to get rid of anything that reminded them of Papism – the Roman Catholic faith that England’s leaders had given up. The church fell into disrepair during the 19th century and was on the verge of being pulled down. The parishioners began to put money into a restoration fund in 1845 which saved the fabric but the money ran out quickly. More work was done on the church in 1871 and 1901. In 1942 the church was badly damaged in an air raid during World War II and again there was talk of pulling it down. There are four other churches within less than quarter of a mile from St Julian’s and after the War the whole area was redeveloped. It was awareness of the importance of Julian’s writing that led the rector, Father Raybould, with the support of the Community of All Hallows, to encourage the community and other interested bodies to get on with the restoration of the church as a place of prayer and pilgrimage. The architect has done such a good job in creating this little church and re-cycling a number of features from the old church and others damaged at the same time. The recreation of Julian’s cell is such a wonderful result of the terrible war damage.
The Norman doorway into the cell came from the church of St Michael at Thorn which stood nearby in Ber Street and was destroyed at the same time as St Julian’s. There was no door here when the Cell was used as an anchorage.
I have read Julian’s book a few times and each time I read it I understand it more, I love it more and I marvel more at this woman, who lived so long ago, being able to write and think so profoundly and able to speak so clearly to me today. The best translation I have found so far is that done by Father John-Julian, an Episcopal priest and monk. According to the blurb on the back of my copy, he has been a parish priest in Wisconsin, New Hampshire and Connecticut, was the founding Dean of the Seminary of the Streets in New York and has taught at the University of Rhode Island and Hampshire College. In 1985 he founded the Wisconsin-based contemplative, semi-enclosed monastic Order of Julian of Norwich. He has read and studied Julian of Norwich each day for over a quarter of a century. After much research he believes that Dame Julian was Julian Erpingham, the elder sister of Sir Thomas Erpingham, friend of the King, Lord Warden of the Cinque Ports and who fought at Agincourt. This Julian married a Roger Hauteyn and was widowed in 1373 (the same year as the ‘Revelations’) when her husband was killed, presumably in a duel. She re-married in 1376 a Sir John Phelip of Dennington in Suffolk. They had three children, the last of which was born the same year that her second husband died in 1389. John-Julian believes that if this was the Dame Julian of the ‘Revelations’, she wrote the book before she became an anchorite and in about 1393 she fostered out her youngest child, dictated the Long Version of the book and then entered her anchorhold. It is possible.
The cell had been used by solitaries before Julian and also by others after her. When she lived there, there would have been a window onto the street so that she could counsel people, a window into the church and a window or door into an adjacent room where a servant would live. The servant would remove rubbish etc and bring food from the market and do any other tasks for Dame Julian.
The wooden platform marks the original floor-level and the stone memorial above it used to be on the outside wall of the church before the Cell was rebuilt. The window above that is in the place where Julian’s window into the church would have been. She would hear Mass through the window and receive Holy Communion there. She would have been able to see the Sacrament (the consecrated Bread) hanging in a Pyx (a special vessel/container) before the High Altar. There are two pieces of flintwork near the ground which formed part of the early foundations, one of which can be seen in this photo.
The High Altar Reredos (the ornamental screen covering the wall behind the Altar) was made in Oberammergau, Germany and dates from 1931 and was a gift. It survived the bombing.
The font is the finest thing in the church and one of the great architectural treasures of the City of Norwich. It used to belong to All Saints Church and when it was declared redundant in 1977 the font was brought to St Julian’s as both churches had been pastorally linked at various times.
The church is dedicated to Saint Julian bishop of Le Mans. Lady Julian has never been declared a ‘saint’ although she is now included in the Church Calender of 1980. Many people think that Lady Julian took her name from the building where she had her anchorage when she entered her Cell.
quietsolopursuits said:
Wow! I thought that the castle and history attached to it was really cool, but the story of Dame Julian and the church, along with the photos, were very enlightening! You pu so much research into your posts, thank you for all your hard work.
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clarepooley33 said:
It is my pleasure! I am glad you liked it. Clare
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New Hampshire Garden Solutions said:
I’m guessing that the quote is from Shakespeare. It sounds like something he’d write.
I’d love to explore the castle and the church especially. Many of my ancestors were jailed for being Catholics after Henry VIII created the Church of England so it’s very interesting to see how things might have been at that time.
I’m going to have to look up that book.
I just finished “The Untethered Soul” by Michael A. Singer and he also speaks about how there is no wrath in God and how His love is like that of a tender loving mother. Now I’m thinking that he must have read her book.
Thanks for a very interesting post.
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clarepooley33 said:
Thank-you Allen. Not only were buildings and beautiful artifacts broken or stolen during the Reformation (and also during the time of the Commonwealth after the execution of Charles I) but the ordinary people’s lives were turned up-side-down too. Change was imposed from above and everyone had to toe the line or face severe punishment. The Church and Convent belong to the Church of England though many people think they are Roman Catholic assuming that the C of E doesn’t have nuns. Fortunately the C of E has a very wide spectrum from very high church to very low and so all are catered for. I am interested in the book you mention and will have to read it!
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New Hampshire Garden Solutions said:
Thanks for the additional information, Clare. I never knew that the Church of England had nuns. I’m sure that there’s a lot more I don’t know about it as well!
I think you might like The Untethered Soul. It has bits and pieces of every religion in it and I’ve decide to read it again.
I ordered The Revelations of Divine Love today.
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clarepooley33 said:
And I have ordered The Untethered Soul!
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tootlepedal said:
You are a mine of information.
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clarepooley33 said:
Thank-you.
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Cynthia Reyes said:
Thanks very much for writing about Julian of Norwich, Clare. I’m so glad that you take us on your tours to places I may never have the privilege of visiting in person.
I’m particularly pleased to learn more about Norwich, her cell, the church, her routines, and the newer information about who she might have been in real life.
She’s such a ‘woman of mystery’, and a legend. I first came across her when the nuns at the Sisterhood of St. John the Divine in Toronto assigned me to the tiny room they had named for her. Every time I arrived there for silent retreat, they put me in the same room. so I had a ,lot of time to read and think about her her thoughts about God.
But this is the first time I’m seeing a photo of the rebuilt cell, and hearing more about her daily life, and who she might have been.
THANKS TO YOU.
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clarepooley33 said:
When I read your book I was so pleased to find that you ‘knew’ Lady Julian. She is one of my special people – her writings mean so much to me – and I feel privileged to be able to visit the place where she lived even though nothing much remains of the original building. The atmosphere in that church and in the cell too is very calming and I felt happier after my visit.
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Cynthia Reyes said:
I bet. I’d love to visit it sometime, but if not possible, I’m glad for your post, and glad to know you’re a fan of hers too.
I also want you to know that in our home, we were thinking a lot about Britain and Scotland in particular this week.
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clarepooley33 said:
Thank-you. It has been a momentous time for Britain. I feel sorry for the Scots who were hoping for independence – many of them are feeling very let down now. Fighting in the streets of Glasgow last night and calls for another referendum as many think Thursday’s vote was rigged! Many people also think that it is possible that all the members of the United Kingdom and Northern Ireland will be asked if they want independence. A real shock if England decided it wanted independence and broke away from the rest! There will be many changes made now, despite Scotland voting no, and not all for the best. We wait to see what happens. With a General Election next year all the different parties of all the different countries will be working overtime to win our votes. For the first time in many years, people are really thinking about politics and how we want our country to go forward into the rest of the 21st century. We have all felt so let down by the main parties over the past couple of decades that lethargy had set in. Maybe we may start to think that we as individuals can make a difference to our country?
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Cynthia Reyes said:
Wouldn’t that be a wonderful outcome? Over here, we are much impressed by the high turnout. I guess it shows that people will vote when they think something very important is at stake (?).
Our voting participation here is low.
But we were watching Scotland and the story led the news quite a bit. Just months ago, it seemed that Quebec was heading down the separatist road again….
Democracies do need shaking up occasionally, to remind us of our great privileges. I do feel for those Scots who voted Yes. It must be tough. I hope it all is resolved for the better.
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clarepooley33 said:
You are right – we are so lucky to live in a democratic country and able to vote secretly for people we think may run our country fairly and well. My problem is that none of the parties appeal to me at all. They are all run by extremely wealthy professional politicians who have no experience of living in the real world. No-one in their parties is allowed to stray from the party line. There is hardly any passion or enthusiasm – all members are so cautious because afraid of losing their position. Elinor will be eighteen in January and therefore eligible to vote next year. I hope by then all the parties may have sorted themselves out and have something new to offer us in the wake of the Scottish Referendum.
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Cynthia Reyes said:
I sure hope so, Clare. And the situation is not much different here.
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Aquileana said:
Absolutely gorgeous post… I love the Norwich building and the whole gallery… I am also curious about the meaning of the quote you attached above, dear Clare… Let me know if you get to unravel the mystery please 😉
Much love and happy almost weekend ahead to you, Aquileana 😛
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clarepooley33 said:
Thank-you dear Aquileana! As soon as I find out I’ll let you know. I hope you have a lovely weekend too
Love, Clare
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Cynthia Reyes said:
Clare, I forgot to mention: Did you know that T. S. Eliot stole some lines from Julian for his Four Quartets? I was astonished when I first came across this when re-reading his Four Quartets last winter.
I notice how other writers refer to Eliot’s theft as “borrowing” her lines, and some even justify it by saying that by using her lines, he helped bring her to fame. But I’ve read a lot about and by Eliot, and I never saw any instance where he gave her credit.
The lines are perhaps her most famous and he used them a number of times:
“And all shall be well and All manner of thing shall be well.”
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clarepooley33 said:
I had noticed the lines but had assumed that he had credited her. How strange – it is difficult to know what to think about that.
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Gallivanta said:
Lovely to learn some more about Julian of Norwich and your proximity to her place. Have you seen the stained glass window in Norwich Cathedral which shows Julian with her cat? http://www.fictiondb.com/author/mary-little~julians-cat-an-imaginary-history-of-a-cat-of-desti~437078~b.htm
The gardens of the Castle look like a lovely place for quiet contemplation and I adore the wildflowers around the castle.
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clarepooley33 said:
I am ashamed to say that I haven’t! I think there are two windows with depictions of her – the other one apparently has her dressed as a Benedictine nun (which she wasn’t). I also haven’t looked at the statue of her there (on the west front), despite visiting the cathedral and worshipping there fairly regularly. I easily get distracted and side-tracked!
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Gallivanta said:
I should say there is plenty to distract one in the Cathedral. I didn’t know or see everything in our Cathedral. Now it is no more. 😦
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clarepooley33 said:
Such a terrible tragedy. The results of a natural disaster like your earthquake are the same as if the city had been bomb-damaged but there is no-one to blame. During WW2 my mother’s house received a direct hit and she and her family lost everything they had. Their house and most of their neighbours’ homes were reduced to rubble. They all had to start again. A difficult thing to do as no doubt you in Christchurch have found out.
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Gallivanta said:
In many ways, we take inspiration from what happened in Britain during WW2. We know a rebuild is possible. Regeneration does happen. I love the story of London Pride, the flower. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saxifraga_%C3%97_urbium
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clarepooley33 said:
Elinor and I have sat in the gardens when she has felt anxious and they are very peaceful indeed. I was pleased to see that the wild flowers were ones that would have been around when the castle was built.
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Gallivanta said:
That is excellent to know.
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