Market Harborough and Great Tew

Market Harborough and Great Tew

Morning tea at the Falkland Arms in Great Tew

First of all apologies for my email link not working yesterday... I think my brain is having a mid-holiday break.  Will try to make sure this one works today. Obviously if you're reading this it did work!

Most mornings when I wake up I have a bit of an idea what I will do during the day. But today I had no firm plans at all. I know I have to be in Rutland for Tuesday and Wednesday, but didn't really know what this day held...

So the first thing was to have morning tea... I had heard of a highly recommended place called Great Tew, where there was a lovely pub called the Falkland Arms. I had planned to go there yesterday, but got home quite late so didn't make it. But I looked it up on Google and it was only 9 mins from my place at Heythrop Park, so I decided to go there for morning tea. And I was very glad I did.

Here's a few pics of the village first - Great Tew.

Great Tew Village

The School

And here's the pub... one of its claims to fame are the tankards hanging from the ceiling...

Great Tew pub

Tankards on ceiling

Tankards on ceiling

 There were two things that hit me when I walked in - the warmth and the smell. It was a cool morning and the pub had a lovely warmth to it. And the smell was the rich smell of alcohol and beer in particular. Not a nasty turn up your nose smell, but a really rich "this is a pub" smell.The hosts were very friendly and I had a lovely coffee there. They lit that open fire just as I was leaving - nearly tempted me to stay longer.

But the real highlight of my day was yet to come....

One of the reasons I'm heading to Leicester is because my maternal Grandmother migrated from there to Australia. In fact the first three of her children were English, and my Mum was the first to be born in Australia.

Having been in  touch with my cousins in Australia and now discovering new cousins online, I had heard that our family had deep connections with a town called Market Harborough - so that is where I headed today. I just said to Gaby Garmin - take me to Market Harborough and she planned this lovely drive throught the countryside, where I only hit a major freeway once and the rest was just rural driving - very pleasant!

It's amazing how trust I put in that little gadget... I actually had no idea where I was, but I went through Banbury (Ride a cock horse to Banbury Cross - saw the statue on the way through!) then through Rugby...

And eventually I ended up in Market Harborough...

I knew our family had a connection to the Catholic Church in  M-H so I parked the car, then started asking a few people "Do you know where the Catholic Church is??"  No positive responses... Obviously not a highlight of the town. So I found a sign that pointed to Information, so I eagerly followed that, but Information was closed on Mondays!!! Apparently all of Europe doesn't do Mondays!!

Anyway, I finally found a nice lady behind a desk in a warm building (it's getting pretty chilly here!) and she gave me explicit directions -after consulting Google maps!

So I found my Church - Our Lady of the Visitation.

I think I alluded to a little family history in my post on the day with Audrey, but my great grandfather TB Hunt  made his money as a fishmonger in this town. His first wife died at the age of about 36 after multiple children annd he remarried quite quickly after that. But apparently, as a token gesture to his first wife Ellen Hunt, he had a stained glass window made in her memory in this Church in M-H.

When I arrived at the Church it looked quite locked up and I was on the verge of being very disappointed, but there was a guy mowing the lawns, so I told him a short version of my story and asked him if I could get in. Forunately he was a parishioner, so he took me in though the Parish Centre and just left me there...

It was the most amazing experience. I could just feel the spirit of my ancestors surrounding me. I looked around the Church and could just picture them being there. It was a bit like my "wow" moment when I walked into the Great Hall at Hampton Court Palace, but this was a lot more personal. I felt really emotional just to be where my ancestors had lived and walked and prayed.

Of course I went straight to find the windows. I had seen them in pictures as my family over here had generously shared them with me, but seeing them with my own eyes was another thing.

Stained Glass window dedicated to the memory of Ellen Hunt

You have to read right across both windows to get the full dedication

In case you can't read it it says...
Pray for the soul of Ellen Hunt who died on the Feast of the Sacred Heart of Jesus June 12th 1896.  Erected by her loving husband TB Hunt in the holy year of Our Lord 1900.

The Church has been done up, in fact the lawn mower man said they actually took out the stained glass windows piece by piece when they refurbished the Church and then put them back together again.

Here's the inside of the Church

Our Lady of the Visitation Church Market Harborough

Our Lady of the Visitation Church Market Harborough

Our Lady of the Visitation Church Market Harborough

And of course, I had to light a candle.... In fact I lit two!
One for all my special intentions for my friends and family who are unwell and one for all the many generations of Hunts and Nolans who are part of the offspring of these great grandparents of mine.

Not the best pic, but you get the idea!

I stayed in the Church for quite a while, just soaking it all up. I felt quite reluctant to leave...I just kept looking around and trying to imagine what it would've been like in those days.

But, practicalities emerge... I hadn't had any lunch, so eventually I dragged myself away and headed for some lovely soup and bread in a little cafe that looked as old as the Church!

Then... my next task for the day was to find some accommodation. I didn't think it would be a major problem, but once again, there was nothing obvious in the town, apart from one pub that looked a bit dodgy! So I go once again to my friend Gaby Garmin and ask her what accommodaton can be found around here..?? The first one was non existent, but the second one took me here where I am staying for the night. The Premier Inn which is about 4 kms out of town. Once again, my guardian angels must've been looking after me because there was only 1 room left, so I grabbed it... 

And it's lovely... and it's big!!!! I can move without tripping over things...Yessssss.....
It's actually the disabled room which means they have to allow for wheel chairs, but it's so spacious and very comfortable, and at least I have somewhere to sleep for the night!

So that was yet another highlight filled day to add to the many I have already experienced.

I am so blessed to have these opportunities.... hope you are able to enjoy them with me.