Castle tales illuminate Catholic history

As I settled down to write these notes, two things drew my attention to this locality.

First was the history of Redmire’s ancient church, and second was a story that comes from Bolton Castle.

First, the church. This old and very historic little church is about half a mile outside Redmire to the south-east. One of my reference books describes it as a structure of great humility and there is no doubt it is of considerable age, albeit with no windows to the north or west. Much of the stonework has been dated to Norman times which places the original church within the 11th century, although some sources suggest it could be earlier.

During my many tours of old churches, there is very little and indeed sometimes no reference to the dramatic impact of the Reformation when church buildings were transformed from the richness of Catholic adornment to Protestant plainness. This was especially the case during the Edwardine Visitation – which means our true histories of such churches are incomplete or even inaccurate.

In the case of Redmire, there are one or two hints of such times.

My sources tell of a bracket on the east wall, probably to house a statue, another small opening represents a piscina, and the arms of two prominent local Catholic families – the Nevilles and the Scropes – are displayed in the east window. There is also a short length of Norman frieze inside the church and also a Norman Mass Dial, the purpose of which was to display the times of holy mass.

In fact, prior to the Reformation this church was a chantry chapel and I believe its parent church was at Wensley. A chantry was a special monetary trust fund set aside for the purpose of employing a priest to say mass for the dead. Chantries were common before the Reformation and were often wealthy places as people left money, land and goods in an attempt to maintain the chapel and its priest.

It seems that as a result of the Reformation, the question of dissolution of the Redmire chantry was discussed but a decision based on its distance from Wensley suggested it was far enough away to be allowed to continue.

This little church was dedicated to the Blessed Virgin Mary but is now known as St Mary’s.

Bolton Castle will be forever associated with the imprisonment of the Catholic Mary Queen of Scots, the first cousin (once removed) to the “good” Queen Bess of England, Elizabeth I. I will not enter the long discussion about the rights and wrongs of this sorry drama but Mary, seeking the protection of Elizabeth, found herself arrested and incarcerated in Bolton Castle, albeit with considerable freedom.

Lord Scrope was dispatched to Carlisle to escort Mary to Bolton Castle, and Lady Scrope was to be her ladyin- waiting. Thus she was escorted to her place of imprisonment in Bolton Castle, leaving Carlisle on July 13, 1568. She remained there until the following January 26 while a commission met first in York and then in London to examine charges against Mary and to examine her claim to the English throne.

During the ensuing months it was never forgotten that Mary was a queen. She endured her restricted life with considerable bravery but because she was a highly- attractive young woman of 26 years of age, the gallant and wealthy young men of the locality wanted to get to know her. Thus she was protected from everyone.

However, one young fellow managed to breach the defences at Bolton Castle.

Christopher Norton, one of the sons of the renowned Norton, of Norton Conyers, was among several ambitious young men who enrolled themselves as Knights of Mary Stuart. In this role, young Norton succeeded in getting himself admitted to the guards who patrolled Bolton Castle and, as he had apparently planned, he managed to wheedle himself into the presence of the young Queen Mary.

This is his story, in his own words. “One day when the Queen of Scots, in winter, had been sitting at the window- side knitting of a work, and after the board was covered, she rose and went to the fire-side, and, making haste to have the work finished, would not lay it away but worked of it the time she was warming herself.

“She looked for one of her servants, which indeed were all gone to fetch up her meat and, after seeing none of her own folk there, called me to hold her work who was looking at my Lord Scrope and Sir Francis Knollys playing of chess. I went, thinking I had deserved no blame, and that it should not have become me to have refused to do it, my Lady Scrope standing there and many gentlemen in the chamber, that she spake not to me.

“I think Sir Francis saw not nor heard when she called of me. But when he had played his mate, he, seeing me standing by the Queen and holding of her work, called my captain to him and asked him if I watched. He answered, ‘Sometimes’. Then he gave him commandment that I should watch no more, and said the Queen would make me a fool.”

AS FROM last Wednesday, July 3, we are within that curious period of weather known as the Dog Days. They continue until August 11 and are said to be a long period of hot summer weather. It was the Romans who named this period of weather because they believed that Sirius, the Dog Star, rose and set with the sun to provide extra heat.

There are some weather sayings that are linked to the Dog Days, one being “As the Dog Days commence, so they end”. Another tells us If it rains on the first Dog Day it will rain for 40 days after.

There is also an anonymous verse that goes:

Dog Days bright and clear
Indicate a happy year;
But when accompanied by rain,
For better times our hopes are vain.

One of the Dog Days, called Bullion’s Day, occurred yesterday, July 4, and an old piece of Scottish weather lore says: “If Bullion’s Day be dry, there will be a good harvest” and there is another that tells us: “If Bullion’s Day be fair, for 40 days it will rain neea mair.”

The Bullion mentioned here is St Martin Bullion whose full name is given to avoid confusion with all the other saints called Martin.