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Sheep Dung Dodging at Tupholme Abbey
A day out and visitors guide to Tupholme Abbey
Whilst looking for a suitable background for a photo shoot of a new band I came across Tupholme Abbey, a fine example of a ruinous building if ever there was one.
Some two miles from the Lincolnshire village of Bardney on a corner somewhere along the Lincoln to Horncastle road (B1190) it makes for interesting viewing on what is otherwise a typically flat Lincolnshire skyline.
Home to a commune of religious types from 1160 to 1536 (apparently) it fell from grace during the reign of Henry V111 when the canons were paid off with a few coins whilst watching their abbey demolished to no more than a single two storey wall which still stands to this day.
As impressive as the fact that the wall still stands after all this time is it pales in comparison to my walking across the field, photographing the wall from every angle and returning to my car without a single trace of sheep droppings on my footwear!
They say the abbey is situated on the Island of Sheep, well, they’re not kidding, having lived in the Lake District for four years I’ve seen some sheep (from a distance with no ulterior motive I hasten to add) but this place takes some beating. I don’t know what is in the Tupholme grass but it keeps the sheep regular!
As for the photo shoot, the backdrop would be ok for Black Sabbath or Napalm Death but not for this particular project. I visited the abbey on a particularly nice summers day when the sky and surrounding countryside provided vivid background colours but the building screamed out to be photographed in monochrome.
There is some great history in and around Lincoln, especially places such as Bardney. Sadly most of us are not even aware of what is on our own doorsteps.
August 16, 2007 @ 1:03 pm
SC,
You’re absolutely right, I am guilty as charged. I think Lincolnshire has plenty to offer and shall venture further afield in the near future in the name of web journalism. Saying that I passed Skegness after my stop off at the abbey but, oh dear. Enough said I am afraid. I was hoping for a wiff of nostalgia after a day out I had there with my best mate Andy Townsend in 1986 in his bright yellow Vauxhall Cavalier. The passenger seat window wouldn’t stay up which gave me a Stray Cats quiff on the left hand side! It was a great summers day though and we listened to ‘Summer Madness’ by Kool and the Gang on the way home before getting smashed at the Flamingo nightclub in Cleethorpes. Golden days. Sorry, I digress.
Miles
August 16, 2007 @ 10:38 pm