Pershore, Friday 23rd July
We arrived at Pershore Abbey knowing that the reformation had dealt harshly with it.
The monastic buildings, the Norman nave, the Lady Chapel and St Edburga's Chapel were demolished and their building materials were sold. The parishioners bought the monks' choir for £400 to be their parish church.
During the late 17th century, the north transept fell and the north buttress was built to support the tower. In 1861 during a gale, the east parapet blew down and a large scale restoration took place under the auspices of Giles Gilbert Scott. During these works, the belfry floor was removed and the ringing room replaced by a metal cage suspended high above the chancel crossing. The fine lantern tracery of the tower was exposed by this removal. A ring of eight bells hangs here. Altogether, a fine building.
The town itself has some good buildings, but suffers from a busy main road running through the centre. It has a few empty shops, but not as many as a lot of small towns we have seen this year.
2009 Totals: 415 Locks – 707.5 miles – 18 Bus pass uses.
