Saturday was November 11, which is the British Rememberance Day. At Chepstow Castle (more about that in a few), I got to watch the lord-mayor, dressed in official regalia, launch 2 rockets into the sky (I have video) at 11am when the church bells tolled the hour. This was followed by 2 minutes of silence. Very creepy & eerie.
On Saturday I went to the Wye Valley which is considered the most beautiful area of Wales. It is right on the border of England. The Wye Valley houses two really cool pieces of history - a castle and an abbey. Chepstow Castle, dating back to the Normans, sits on the Wye River. It is huge! At first glance, looks can be VERY deceiving. See for yourself -
Construction on the castle began in 1067!! (William the Conqueror was crowned King of England in 1066 - he has a castle in Caen, France for those of you history buffs.) Over the years, the castle was expanded to the huge thing it is today. The castle was hardly ever taken because of its location - literally on the rocky ledge of the Wye River - in fact, part of it is built into the side! It was during the Civil War (British, not American) that the castle became damaged by cannon fire since it was outfitted to withstand medieval attacks, i.e. arrow fire. Oh, and supposedly the castle is haunted by a guy - I think it was Henry Marten - who only appears to young females. *shrug* Sorry, my southern charms didn't bring him out.
After my visit to Chepstow, the American Studies bus took the short 6-mile drive to Tintern Abbey, a Cistercian abbey that was miraculously saved from demolition during Henry VIII's reign. Our guide Brother Thomas, aka Keith, told stories as if he were a Benedictine brother living in the abbey.
Now Tintern is only the 2nd Cistercian structure in Britain and the 1st in Wales (founded May 9, 1131 by Walter de Clare, lord of Chepstow). However, it was dissolved in 1536 thanks to the whole "I want a divorce" & "I don't like the Pope" bit happened with Henry.
The abbey is designed in typical abbey format - the altar facing east, but the cloisters had to be built to the north because of the geography of the land. The actual church that still stands was built between 1269 & 1301 - the only things missing are the roof, the window glass, and some walls.
The 1348 Black Death really hurt the abbey since 1/3 of the population died. The abbey could no longer maintain the lands without help, so they leased it to tenant farmers instead of farming the land themselves.
In the 1500s, Henry VIII came to power & well, we all know what happened. Catholicism went down the drain & in came Henry as head of the Church of England (still the prevalent church today). Henry called for the destruction of all churches related to the pope, but he saved Tintern because 3 of his family members were buried within the church.
In the 18th century, Tintern became popular again, particularly with William Wordsworth who loved the romantic, picturesque site covered in ivy.
So a busy day with really cool old buildings ... & a chance to FINALLY see some leaves changing colors.
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