Near the completion of our walk we passed the village manor house with the brick and flint stone wall - common to many parts of England.
We also stopped off at the church - and were delayed here because of a heavy shower of rain. There has been a church on this site since 901. The current church dates from around 1716.
A fascinating medieval legacy is on display, one of the largest collections of “Virgin Crowns”, or “Maiden’s Garlands“, in existence, and Abbots Ann is the only parish in England which perpetuates the custom of awarding them after the custom died out in the 18th century. The crowns "may be requested by the relatives of the deceased person, who must have been born, baptised, confirmed and have died, unmarried, in the parish, and must have been of unblemished reputation." The crown is made of hazelwood and decorated with paper rosettes, with five paper gloves. Males qualified if they meet the criteria. Since 1716, forty-nine crowns have been hung in the church.
At the funeral the crown is "suspended from a small white wand and carried by two girls aged between twelve and sixteen and dressed in white with folded handkerchiefs on their heads at the head of the funeral procession, laid on the coffin in the church and afterwards in the churchyard until the body is committed to the ground." It is then hung from a hook in the church gallery "so that all entering church on the following Sunday may pass under it." If unchallenged after 3 weeks, the crown is hung from a hook near the ceiling of the church, with an plaque recording the name and date. The oldest crown dates from 1740, and the most recent from 1973.
After the rain show we returned to Fran’s where we spent the rest of the day.
We helped Fran trim back a large hedge that had got out of control.
Also, started the serious business of preparing the van for storage this Friday!
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