Ches has cracked the whip …. And it's had little effect. Too much happening to find the time to write a blog every night. Apart from posting it here, I use it to put together a photo album when we return home, so it will get written.

Here we are a week later, Father's Day here in the UK and tomorrow we leave for Brighton and the easter counties.

Back on Monday, we left Puddletown and on to Combe Florey. The name Puddletown means 'farmstead on the River Piddle'. It derives from the Old English pidele, a river-name meaning fen or marsh, and tūn, meaning farmstead. Several settlements along the river derive their names from it. The first part of the name Combe Florey comes from cwm meaning valley, and the second part from Hugh de Fleuri who was lord of the manor around 1166.

Our first stop was Cerne Abbas. Cerne apparently derives from a Celtic word for 'stone' and Abbas means 'Father' - the monastic form of address for its Abbot. Visitors continue to be drawn on a pilgrimage of these ancient streets by that even earlier and dominating absurdity of a full-frontal male nude sculpted into the adjacent hillside. We certainly were, and only discovered the monastery at the last minute. After the event, of the two, I'd go to the monastery if I could only visit one of them. It's now a private home and only open to the public when it suits them. It suited them on Monday.

A full description, as usual, is at the end of this blog … for those interested. There isn't access into the main building (their home) however the hospital is partially open. The word "hospital" comes from the Latin hospes, signifying a stranger or foreigner, hence a guest. Another noun derived from this, hospitium came to signify hospitality, that is the relation between guest and shelterer, hospitality, friendliness, and hospitable reception.

The gatehouse and the gardens quite stunning. I'll post a photo album just about the abbey.

We actually visited it after we'd been up to the carpark to see the chalk giant. For those who only know about the three chalk horses, at different sites around the south of England, there is also a giant chalk man with his penis …. erect. Apparently they only weed it and clear the surrounding grass every 9 years and it could be about time now. It was very faint and along with the humidity creating mist on the hillside, it wasn't all that clear. The most recent archaeological research suggests that it was created during the late Saxon period.

Soil samples from the Cerne Abbas Giant were analysed by scientists over 12 months to reveal the landmark's age.

The research also sparked a new theory that the Dorset giant was forgotten for generations after it was first sculpted and then later rediscovered. Geoarchaeologist Mike Allen said the age result was "not what was expected". He said: "Everyone was wrong and that makes these results even more exciting."

Soil samples from the giant's elbows and feet were extracted in March 2020 but the results were delayed due to the coronavirus pandemic. Snails introduced during medieval times, including Cernuella virgata, have been found at the site. In July, scientists said microscopic snails revealed the giant was unlikely to be prehistoric.

"Many archaeologists and historians thought he was prehistoric or post-medieval, but not medieval," said Mr Allen.

Scientists studied soil samples by using technology to show when individual grains of sand in the sediment were last exposed to sunlight. Researchers said material taken from the deepest layer yielded a date range of AD700 to 1100, which suggested the giant was first made by late Saxons. The Anglo-Saxon period lasted for 600 years, from 410 to 1066, before the middle ages.

But other samples suggested the giant was made at later dates of up to 1560, which left the archaeologists with a conundrum, due to the earliest documented record of the giant featuring in a church warden's account of repairing it in 1694.

National Trust senior archaeologist Martin Papworth said the science suggested the giant "could be medieval" but added surviving documents from Cerne Abbey, founded in AD987, "don't mention the giant". "In the 16th Century it's as if the giant's not there, and John Norden's survey of 1617 makes no mention of him," he added.

Mr Papworth's theory is that the giant may have been created in the late Saxon period, but then for some unknown reason was neglected for several hundred years and grassed over, before being rediscovered. "That would explain why he doesn't appear in the abbey records or in Tudor surveys," he said.

On to Sherborne. While it is beautiful country in the north of Dorset, the roads are narrow and the hedgerows high. Ches has never had the ability to take in the countryside when I'm driving. She keeps as close an eye on the road ahead as I do. Even closer actually. While I see squirrels or pheasants on the side of the road, she misses them completely. Most are alive; so far four male pheasants, on female pheasant (and neither a pheasant plucker or his son), five squirrels (one dead and being eaten by two crows), one deer, one dead badger and one dead fox.

It's beautiful hill country, when you get to see it through a gap in the hedgerows. When we first visited the UK in the early 80s, we had read an article that suggested that the best way to see England was by driving on roads that had at least 4 numbers. We did that and while it was slow driving, we got to see many small villages and a reasonable amount of thatch. These days, thatch is everywhere. I guess as the economy grew, more people could afford to rethatch their cottages. Now it's here a thatch, there a thatch, everywhere a thatch, thatch.

Those quiet 4 numbered and many 3 numbered roads are so narrow that there are passing spaces cut into the hedgerow every so often. So far, we've been lucky and not had to back up into one of those spaces, however we have had to follow tractors for miles at a crawl.

We arrived in Sherborne to find that the castle doesn't open on Mondays, as is the case with many National Trust sites. We also discovered that if we don't tell Sheila that we have abandoned trying to visit a site, she will keep circling back. As we might also have mentioned. If we start driving in a different direction to the one she has identified, she doesn't tell us to do a Uey; she just takes us on the longest rout starting from that direction. More of that later. Much more!!!!!

The main street is a pedestrian one, so ignoring Sheila, we drove into the carpark at Sherborne Abbey. It may have been for staff only, it didn't say clearly enough, so on the basis of ignorance being bliss, we parked beside the church In 864, it was listed as Scireburnan and later as Scireburne in the Domesday Book. The name literally means "place at the bright or clear stream" referring to the adjacent River Yeo. One of the first records there was Wulfsige, a medieval Bishop of Sherborne (c. 885-896.

Historically, Sherborne was the capital of Wessex, one of the seven Saxon kingdoms of England. Sherborne Castle was built in 1594 by Sir Walter Raleigh on the grounds of the ruined old palace built in the 12th century. The Abbey Church of St Mary the Virgin at Sherborne, or colloquially called Sherborne Abbey was originally a Saxon cathedral (705-1075), then a Benedictine abbey (998-1539), and more recently and after the Dissolution of the Monasteries a parish church.

While admiring the interior, we were informed that there would be an organ recital at 1:30, so we rushed off to park in a long term carpark and find somewhere for lunch. Sometimes Google "Best lunch near me" works. This time it did exceptionally well. A tearoom café with a garden out back was about perfect. So was the food. My Jamaican pork was such a large serve that I decided to ask for a "doggy bag". The waitress looked startled. I said "for the leftovers". She laughed and said, "I can give you a box but not a boddy bag". That's my nasally speech again. Back at the Medical Society, I would leave messages for doctors/nurses and they would return the call to the bookshop saying "I'm returning Captain Crawford's call". Apparently instead of Gavin they heard Captain. The staff amended my account at the bookshop as Captain Crawford.

Anyway, we made it back to the church just in time for the organ recital. Initially Ches had suggested that we might only listen toa couple of items however it was so good we had to hear it all. The humidity had played havoc with the tuning of the organ however by the last item, it was warmed up enough to handle the range a lot better.

With time slipping away, we decided there was only time to visit one National Trust property and that would be Montacute House. The name Montacute is thought by some to derive from the Latin "Mons Acutus", referring to the conically acute St Michael's Hill dominating the village to the west. An alternative view is that it is named after Drogo de Montagu, whose family originated from Montaigu-les-Bois, in the arrondissement of Coutances.

By all accounts, Montacute House was built to impress, to show off. AND, it was only ever intended to be a holiday home. Home? House? It's too big to be either. Following are the full details, however We have to point out that there were two elements to the house that we found amazing.

The Long Gallery. The longest of its type in England, stretching the full 52 metres or 176 feet length of the house. It was added on at some point to provide a space in which they would take long walks when the weather outside was inclement. Windows all around so you could look at the view while strolling around and round. I was tempted to go to the car and retrieve my stretch bands and do a workout.

The other feature were the two garden pavilions on the corners of the enclosed garden. Apparently they were built for dinner parties to retreat there and have their "pudding". While finishing their meal, the staff could clear away everything in the dining room and set up for dancing etc.

Montacute House

by Ben Johnson

As you drive through the beautiful village of Montacute with its pretty ham stone cottages and picturesque inns, your eyes are drawn to a pair of impressive gates and the stunning building that sits at the end of the formal drive.

This is Montacute House, built to impress by Sir Edward Phelips, a wealthy lawyer and member of Elizabeth I's Parliament. An influential man, as Speaker of the House of Commons Phelips was involved in the trial of Guy Fawkes and the Gunpowder Plotters.

The house was built in about 1598 and inhabited by the Phelips family until 1911 when it was rented out. Put up for sale in 1929, it was acquired by the National Trust in 1931.

Built in English Renaissance style, this Grade I listed building is one of the few houses to have remained virtually unchanged since Elizabethan times. The stunning east front with its large mullioned windows gives the impression that the whole façade is made of glass. The Tudor west front was removed from nearby Clifton Maybank House and re-erected at Montacute in 1786.

Montacute House is built in an 'E' shape, as was the norm at the time. The ground floor houses the Great Hall and kitchens, with the Great Chamber for entertaining on first floor, along with some bedrooms and other rooms used by the family and their guests.

One of the bedrooms on the first floor, the Garden Chamber, houses a unique facility: a plumbed bath, ingeniously hidden in a wardrobe! It was installed in his bedroom by Lord Curzon, Viceroy of India, who lived in the house from 1915 to 1925.

On the second floor, the 172 foot Long Gallery is the longest of its type in England, and now hosts an impressive exhibition by the National Portrait Gallery.

The gardens and grounds at Montacute are a delight. There are two beautiful garden pavilions, an orangery, ice house, walled gardens and of course, an excellent National Trust tearoom and café! The landscaped park is perfect for walking and picnicking.

Montacute House has featured in several films and TV programs including the 1995 version of Jane Austen's 'Sense and Sensibility', the 2004 film 'The Libertine' and the BBC adaptation of 'Wolf Hall'.

I had texted Lynda at Combe Florey asking for directions to the best supermarket to stock up before arriving at her cottage. I had envisioned Combe Florey to be an isolated village or at best a lane with a small row of cottages. I'd forgotten that in the UK, postcodes are so sophisticated that even Drew and Keiths apartment has its own postcode. Not just the suburb or street. Key the postcode into google maps, and it leads you to the exact house or premises. Sometimes … not always, especially when Sheila is your guide. I'm not blaming her, however we went around a roundabout with five exits and missed the off ramp twice before giving up and heading on to Combe Florey. By stopping at two service station supermarkets, we eventually bought enough supplies to last us the rest of the week. On to The Little Rectory at Combe Florey.

As it turned out, it's not that isolated at all. Just off the main road down to Minehead from Taunton. The roundabouts of Taunton (where we missed the supermarket) scared us off ever visiting. There was a family connection with Taunton. My great grandfather Tom Colson Coggan grew up in Bristol. He was a house painter, as was his father and three brothers. As was his uncle and four cousins. 10 Coggan house painters. He married Mary Calli who was born in Taunton. The daughter of Italian Catholics. Disowned by his family, they settled near Cardiff where she died just three years later. He emigrated to Sydney and settled at Watsons Bay around 1900.

Not enough of a connection to entice us into Taunton itself. Maybe next time??? Why? Because we missed out on so much in the area this time …. Especially about Combe Florey. Only after leaving did we discover that Evelyn Waugh lived there and he and wife are buried there as is their son Auberon. Lots of other interesting history that I'll post separately. That's what happens when we rush from place to place and don't stay put for a week or more.

The other reason to stay is because the Farmers Arms pub is there. More to the point, they serve the absolute best chips I've ever eaten. Russet potatoes cut into thick chips, double fried and it was like eating crispy skinned mashed potatoes. Did I say they were the best chips I've ever eaten? I might say it again when I finally get around to writing Thursday's blog.

Just in case I forget to tell you…. THEY SERVE THE BEST CHIPS I'VE EVER EATEN.

The village of CERNE ABBAS grew around a great Benedictine Abbey, which was founded in AD 987 however the dissolution of the monasteries in the 16th century sadly saw the Abbey destroyed. Remains of the Abbey can still be seen today and are well worth a visit. Despite the loss of the Abbey the village managed to not just survive but prosper; Cerne's fresh underground water supply fuelling a highly successful brewing trade. The quality beer was sold as far afield as London and was even exported to the Americas. Due to this industry, Cerne Abbas at one time boasted no fewer than 15 public houses with a population of only 1500. Waterpower also gave rise to many other small industries including milling and silk weaving.

Well over a thousand years ago, long before the aforementioned Cerne Abbas Giant was even a glimmer in its creator's eye, a Benedictine Abbey, one of the largest ancient monasteries in England, was founded and the village of Cerne Abbas sprung up around it.

With verdant pasture land and a ready water supply from the River Cerne, that meanders along the valley carved into chalk hills, it's not surprising that the area has been inhabited for millennia. There's evidence of Iron Age activity and Roman artefacts dating to the 2nd century AD discovered in Simsay Field which is just east of the village.

Fact or Fiction about St Augustine at Cerne Abbey

Like so many places across Britain, fact, fiction and legend have become inextricably entwined in the dark and distant past making it almost impossible to provide precise dates about when and indeed who founded the first Abbey at Cerne Abbas. (By the way, Abbas is the Medieval Latin word for abbot.)

In Coker's 'Survey of Dorsetshire' that was first written in the 1620s by Thomas Gerard but first published under the name of John Coker in 1732 he describes Cerne Abbas thus:

"Memorable in former Ages for a faire and rich Abbie of Black Monks* which stood there, first built by St. Augustine, after Archbishop of Canterbury, when in that Place he had broken downs the Altars of the Saxons God, Heile, whom they honoured as Conserver of their health…

(*The Benedictine monks were often called the Black Monks due to the colour of their religious habits.)

St. Augustine was a Benedictine monk who became the first Archbishop of Canterbury in 597 and died c. 604 A.D. It's highly unlikely that he ever made it as far west as Dorset but the link between St. Augustine and Cerne Abbey was recounted by the famous 12th-century historian and chronicler, William of Malmesbury.

Pilgrimage to Cerne Abbey

During the Middle Ages, the pilgrimage industry was a huge thriving business and people flocked to the various shrines for many reasons - piety, penance, healing by miraculous intervention and indulgences (a sort of insurance to get through Purgatory faster) to name but a few. And people were prepared to pay big bucks for all of this.

The shrines were truly important generators of revenue for the monasteries via a number of different income streams. First and foremost were the donations that were made to the shrine on arrival, the relics and devotional objects including pilgrim badges were sold in situ and of course a full range of ancillary services that were offered including food and board.

With this in mind it's not hard to see how the Benedictine monks created an enormous income from the two religious shrines of St. Augustine and St. Eadwold that both reputedly, and rather conveniently, had amazing healing powers and were located at Cerne Abbey.

St. Augustine's Well, also known as the Silver Well, was allegedly created after a miracle performed by St. Augustine himself and can still be seen in the Cerne Abbas churchyard. A Saint making water flow from the ground is a theme repeated over and over in the medieval hagiographies.

In the Middle Ages, the well was covered by St. Augustine's Chapel which was most probably destroyed during the Dissolution. The legend was in all probability created by the Benedictine monks themselves.

In the 9th century, according to the writings of the 11th-century Benedictine monk Goscelin, Eadwold (835-c.900), who was a brother to King Edmund of East Anglia, created a hermitage on a hill about four miles from Cerne Abbas after the murder of his brother. He spent the rest of his life surviving on just bread and water and performed numerous miracles. His body is said to have been buried at the Church in Cerne Abbey.

The founding of The Benedictine Abbey at Cerne Abbas

There seems to be no doubt that before the foundation of the Benedictine Abbey in 987 A.D. there had been a long Christian association with the site but exactly when and who lived there remains a long kept mystery that is unlikely to ever be solved.

Cerne Abbey was founded in 987 by Aethelmaer Cild, otherwise known as Aethelmaer the Stout, who became an important Thane in the household of King Aethelred the Unready, who was on the throne from 978 to 1016.

According to John Leland (c.1503-1552), who is widely regarded as the 'Father of English History' Aethelmaer also founded Eynsham Abbey in Oxfordshire and Bruton Priory in Somerset.

The Vikings plundered the Benedictine monastery at some point during the numerous raids that were carried out from the late 990s up until King Canute was finally crowned in 1016; after this date, Canute is believed to have become a benefactor of the Abbey.

Aelfric of Cerne (also known as Aelfric of Eynsham, the Grammarian and the Homilist

No history of Cerne Abbey would be complete without mentioning Aelfric (955-1010), a monk and a prolific author in both Old English and Latin of which numerous writings have survived. It's estimated that roughly 15% of all Anglo-Saxon writings still in existence today are by him and according to the renowned Historian of the Medieval Period, Claudio Leonardi, he 'represented the highest pinnacle of Benedictine reform and Anglo-Saxon literature.'

Just prior to the founding of the Benedictine Abbey, Aelfric was sent from the Old Minster at Winchester to serve as mass-priest and schoolmaster at Cerne Abbas and was appointed Abbot c.987. He resided there for over fifteen years until becoming Abbot of the new Eynsham Abbey in 1005 that was founded by his patron Aethelmaer, who also founded Cerne. (It's interesting to note that Aethelmaer retired from the court in 1005 and went to live within the community at Eynsham Abbey.)

During his time at Cerne, Aelfric wrote prolifically and this included the two series of Catholic Homilies and Lives of Saints. He also wrote a number of teaching books including his Latin Colloquy and a Grammar which was the first ever Latin 'textbook' in English or indeed in any vernacular.

Cerne Abbey from the Norman Conquest

After the Norman conquest, the Abbey's wealth continued to increase with further endowments and new privileges granted. One of the more unusual privileges was for the monks to reclaim salvage from all of the lands belonging to the Abbey lands along the coast. This was granted to them in an undated charter by Henry II (1133-1189).

In 1214, King John granted Cerne Abbas the right to hold a weekly market; and in 1460 Henry VI granted the village permission to hold three fairs per annum.

As an extensive Medieval landowner, the monastery had numerous tenants all of whom had to pay a tithe - which was a tenth of everything they produced. These tithes were held in a large Tithe Barn, which is found to the west of the village.

The existing barn, seen above, was constructed in the mid-14th century. The south portion of this barn was converted into a house in the late 18th century and remains private property. However, a footpath runs across the land and so this impressive building can be viewed from the exterior.

Dissolution of the Monasteries and Cerne Abbey

Life in Cerne Abbas was to continue in a pretty unremarkable way until the 16th century when King Henry VIII wanted his marriage to Catherine of Aragon annulled. This ultimately led to the Dissolution of the Monasteries which was to have devastating consequences on ecclesiastical orders throughout the country, nowhere was immune.

A number of accusations, most probably trumped up, were brought against the Abbot and he was requested to surrender the monastery to the King. He tried to buy his way out and keep the control of the Abbey within the Catholic Church but to no avail. On 15th March 1539, Cerne Abbey was eventually given over to the King's Commissioner and in exchange, the monks, Abbot and Prior who co-signed the Deed of Surrender received a pension. The same fate would befall Buckfast Abbey in Devon just a year later, in 1539.

Like many other ecclesiastical buildings around this time all of the monastery's treasure ended up in the King's coffers, the lands sold off and the buildings stripped of lead and left to decay. It's hardly surprising that only a minute portion of Cerne Abbey has survived, but, what we can see gives a glimpse of how sumptuous it must have been.

The Abbey was the lifeblood of the village and so its demise had a severe impact on the entire village of Cerne Abbas and the livelihoods of its population.

The first building that you come across as you walk up Abbey Street is the impressive exterior of Abbey House which is a private dwelling and holds the land upon which the rest of the ruins can be found. It may well have been, according to Pevsner, part of the main gateway to the Abbey.

Most of the house dates from c.1750 when a fire ripped through the property, but, there is still a portion of the late 15th century earlier construction. It was reconstructed using stone from the ruined monastic buildings.

The property now houses a fireplace, that was once found within the building which is now called the Abbey Guesthouse. This fireplace bears the initials of John Vanne who was Abbot from 1458-1470.

It was perhaps the Abbot's Lodgings in the 15th century before being transformed into a Guesthouse. The fireplace, as mentioned above, that is now in Abbey House was removed from the guesthouse and bears the initials of John Vanne, Bishop from 1458-70.

The exquisite porch was built for Abbot Thomas Sam (abbot from 1497-1509) and you can only begin to wonder what the Hall itself must have looked like. It has a magnificent two storey oriel window with decorative stone carving and internally there is a fan vault with bosses but, sadly, in a terrible state of repair.

How to Visit

The Abbey ruins are located at the North end of Abbey Street just a couple of hundred yards up from the Church of St Mary and are situated on private land. The gate through to the ruins is normally open and visitors are welcome. There is a suggested £2.00 donation to be placed in an honesty box that is attached to the wall at the entrance gate.