Heaven in Scarborough ... and then we went to Filey

I tried the door. St Martin-on-the-Hill was locked. But there was a sign alongside - guided tours at 10.30am every Tuesday. I looked at my phone. It was nearly 10am. I looked at my partner. Was it Tuesday? Yes, it was. 

While he took Ted dog off to sample the delights of Scarborough, I counted off the minutes until I could get in. The guide and his wife made me a cup of coffee when they arrived. I was about to enter heaven on earth.  

Almost immediately, I was struck by the similarity with All Saints Church in Selsley, near Stroud, so it was no surprise to learn that this church and that are sister churches, designed by the same architect, G F Bodley, and both fitted out by Morris & Co.  

Our guide took me and three other people who had arrived on a guided tour of the beautiful windows. I'm posting pictures of some my favourites but there are more. 

St Martin divides his cloak in two and gives half to a beggar ...

... then dreams that the beggar is Christ in Majesty, conqueror of sin and  death, holding up the cloak while angels wipe their noses on it kiss it.

The rose window in the west wall, with a central Annunciation designed by Burne Jones, and circling angels by him and William Morris 

The story of SS Dorothea and Theophilus (now demoted to non-official sainthood owing to Lack Of Evidence Of Their Existence), with the most beautiful angel/fruit bearer between them. Dorothea is modelled by Jane Morris.  Burne Jones was paid £12 for its design.

The Three Marys window, originally made for St Martin's Church in Brighton but rejected because it features Lizzie Siddal, a probable suicide 

Mary Magdalene, modelled by Annie Miller and designed by Morris

Mary the Virgin, modelled by Georgiana Burne Jones and designed by her husband

Mary of Bethany, modelled by Lizzie Siddal and designed by Morris

As well as these and other beautiful windows, there is a pulpit with panels on the front painted to designs by Ford Madox Brown and Morris. The top row shows the Four Evangelists; the bottom panels, depicting SS Augustine of Hippo, Gregory, Jerome and Ambrose of Milan, were considered close to popery by some of the townsfolk of Scarborough and had to be curtained when the pulpit was first installed, for fear of causing offence. 

To the side there are two panels featuring scenes from the Annunciation by Dante Gabriel Rossetti. 

The organ 

The rood screen and cross, both late additions after the death of the principle benefactor of the Church, Mary Craven, the crossing of which  symbolises death

The chancel, or heaven

The east window, telling the story of the Crucifixion through the Parable of the Vineyard

The beautiful beautiful ceiling of the Lady Chapel










Tearing myself away, I met up with the Northerner, who was rather underwhelmed by the secular delights of Scarborough, and we headed off to Filey, his childhood holiday destination. I'd been enthusing about how much I'd liked it during my stay a couple of years ago, when I went to my nephew's wedding, but I hadn't had my dog with me then and now much of the beach was out of bounds to us - or under water. 

And it was really hard to find anywhere decent to eat. And a gull managed to shit on both of us with one well-aimed evacuation. 

'Never mind,' said the woman in Boots when we went in for baby wipes. 'At least it wasn't one of those horrible gulls from Bridlington.' 

Yes, even non local gulls are to be denigrated in post-Brexit Britain. 

'We must remember to buy a lottery ticket' said the Northerner as he dabbed off a second direct hit - but needless to say, we forgot. 

Still at least one of our party was having a great time ... 

A Voyage to Yorkshire and the Great Piratical Wedding!

Blackbeard's Tea Party are having a hell of a year - a trip to Spain for the Costa Del Folk festival already under their piratical belts, there's appearances at Cropredy and Glastonbury Festivals in the offing, plus the Rainforest World Music Festival in Borneo.  On Saturday, however, it was  ... 

... and being band auntie and cousins, off we went to Filey for the weekend.

Up to this point, my experience of the Yorkshire coast had been confined to a day trip travelling from Staithes to Whitby to Robin Hood's Bay to Scarborough about 35 years ago, so I was keen to spend a little more time in this beautiful part of the world.  Arriving on Friday night at our guest house, we dumped our glad rags and went straight onto the beach.

Oh, and it was lovely.

We walked along the beach as far as a World War II pillbox, sat rather incongruously on the sand near Hunmanby Gap. (Apparently, lots of pillboxes have fallen from the cliffs along the east coast of England due to coastal erosion - this one is pretty intact if that's the case here.)

On our return we admired the local birds ... 

... and met up with the final two members of our party.

All present and correct, we could proceed to the wedding at Wold Top Brewery the following day. 

This was never going to be a run-of-the-mill occasion and whilst there were some traditional bits, there were also stilt-walking drummers, the rest of the band all being best men, a toast in the groom's own, specially brewed beer ...

... sword dancing by Black Swan Rapper ... 

... pirate-themed eats ... 

... a galleon wedding cake ... 

... and a first dance that was actually playing the violin with bow and drumsticks.  (Yes, marterteral tears were shed.)

I knew the bride when she used to rock and roll ... (well, not quite)

Congratulations to my favourite nephew and his lovely bride.  I know you'll continue to be astounding together.

Back in Filey, a new day and another walk on the beach, this time in the opposite direction to Filey Brigg.

 

It was exciting to get to the end and see a whole new part of the coast come into view, over to Scarborough. 

It reminded me a bit of Worm's Head at Rhossili on the Gower, only on a smaller scale.

 

  

Yorkshire, as far as beauty goes, you are up there with my beloved West Country, almost.  Hope to be back before long.