Narborough Bone Mill

I must admit I didn’t know what a Bone Mill was, so here is an interesting article about Narborough Bone Mill.  Where did they obtain the bone from and what was it used for?  They even imported human bone but where from?  The smell must have been gruesome which is why the mill was located in a very isolated position.  To find out more, please access the following link, also take time too explore this website that also has a huge amount of information on Norfolk windmills, watermills and steam pumps:

http://www.norfolkmills.co.uk/Watermills/narborough-bone-mill.html

Bethel Hospital

We discussed the Great Blowe in our session on the English Civil War on Tuesday and it was the Bethel Hospital that was built on the derelict site after the explosion.   So who provided the funds to build the hospital and when was it built?  It was the first public psychiatric asylum outside London but who were its inmates?  And which famous Norwich architect remodelled the hospital?  To find out the answers to these questions and more related information please select the following link:  

https://www.edp24.co.uk/things-to-do/mary-chapman-and-the-bethel-hospital-norwich-1454762

Alice L'estrange

Another interesting article from the Norfolk Women in History website is on somebody who I know little about, Alice L’estrange.  It was very hard to be a famous woman in the 17th century but this lady managed the household and estate accounts of Hunstanton Hall during the English Civil War whilst her husband and sons were away fighting.  She even found time to have eight children as well.  To find out more please select the following link: 

https://norfolkrecordofficeblog.org/alice-lestrange/

  

Pictures from Barton Turf Church

I visited St Michael and All Angels with Colin on Monday.  It was a lovely morning to spend in the Norfolk countryside and it was a very interesting church to explore.  A couple of the highlights are in the photographs below.  The first is medieval graffiti in the shape of daisy wheel circles inscribed on a pillar.  These circles are meant to capture evil spirits.  A tool similar to a compass was probably used to make the circles virtually perfect.  Below the bottom circle there is a horse inscribed which isn’t easy to see - Andrew Eeles spotted the horse when he visited the church some years ago.  

Here are pictures of the beautifully painted 15th century rood screen at St Michael and All Angels.  There are twelve figures, six on each side, and they depict three saints and nine of the Orders of Angels.

The north range features (left to right in first photo): St Apollonia with her pincers and tooth, II: St Sitha with her household keys, and then four of the orders of angels: III: Powers, IV: Virtues, V: Dominations and VI: Seraphim. Partnering this last, the south range (second photo) begins with VII: Cherubim, and then continues VIII: Principalities, IX: Thrones, X: Archangels and XI: Angels, before finishing with XII: St Barbara holding her tower.  The exquisite beauty of the angels' faces is accentuated by the fact that two of them, Dominations (V) and Seraphim (VI), have their faces unrestored, and remain as they were when fundamentalist members of the congregation here scratched them out in response to the Injunctions against Images of the 1540s. Memorable too are the monstrous creature at the feet of Powers (III), the urine flask held by Principalities (VIII) and the naked sinners cosying up to Angels (XI).

Here is a link if you would like to learn more about the church:

http://www.norfolkchurches.co.uk/bartonturf/bartonturf.htm

Stay Healthy!

Regards

Mike