Tuesday 4th February 2003

When we got up the others were out walking. They told us that the curator had offered us a different Landmark house as the gas may run out during our stay. The work on the cattle grid means that the usual delivery cannot be made. We put it to the vote and eventually agreed to stay put unless it became uncomfortably cold.

Grahame and Nikki are coming over to the Priory to visit us today. I prepared the Steak and Guinness for tonight's dinner while we waited for them, then we had another wander around the museum.

A potted history of the priory follows:
The Priory is one of the smallest ever built and dates back to 1210 so is probably the oldest property we have stayed in so far. It was founded by William de Courtnay for Augustinian canons of the Order of St. Victor de Paris, and was dedicated to the Holy Trinity, St. Mary and St. Thomas the Martyr. The founder was a descendant of one of the assassins of St. Thomas Becket of Canterbury, and the martyrdom is depicted on the priory seal. The priory was apparently never a wealthy one and construction continued right up until the 15th century when the earlier church was replaced by a completely new building of perpendicular style. The infirmary and barn also belong to this period and work was continued until 1536 when the priory with other lesser English monasteries was dissolved by Henry VIII. During the depredations that followed the English Reformation many of the priory buildings including the chancel were destroyed, but the tower and the western part of the church were retained and were used as a private residence. The original barn and infirmary are still intact and parts of the cloister and fourteenth century gatehouse also survived. On December 29th 1970 {the 900th anniversary of the death of Thomas Becket} a re-hallowing service was conducted at the priory by the Bishop of Bath and Wells. The priory was subsequently passed into the care of Landmark Trust and after their restoration was completed was made available to the public.

Grahame and Nikki arrived about lunchtime and we showed them around the Priory and it's garden. They were suitably impressed, Grahame {my cousin} was going to order a L.T. handbook when he got home. We had coffee and chatted for awhile then set off to the pub down the road for some lunch. The Old Manor pub served us lunch and Flowers real ale. We sat chatting and reminiscing for a few hours and pints! Later we drove back to the Priory for coffee before Grahame and Nikki went home.

Gav and Nick helped me prepare dinner, then we all relaxed around the fire.