Monks And Vikings

We went to the library in Berwick Upon Tweed to post some blogs as we have no WiFi at Middle Cottage. It just wouldn't work. Today, we found out the library system blocks the website. We've never had that problem before. We were forced to retire to the cafe next door.

We are staying very close to Paxton House and so went for a tour on Monday. Again, we couldn't take any pictures inside.

So, you'll have to make do with the butterfly pictures from the garden.

The house is famous for it's furniture. The second owner commissioned Chippendale to furnish the whole place. He didn't want fancy furniture so what was made is called the "Paxton Style". It also has the largest collection in the world of Trotter furniture. I made a quip about it being a far cry from IKEA furniture and our guide said, "Just wait." When he took us into the master bedroom, with it's beautiful 4 poster bed, he showed us how the bed came apart and could be flat packed to take from house to house. People loved their beds back then in the 1700's and often left them to favoured ones in their wills. We were the only ones on the tour and the guide took us into rooms not normally shown and even opened a Chippendale cabinet so we could see the unfaded design inside.

Yesterday, we continued our island theme. We went to Lindisfarne, also known as the Holy Island, just off the coast of Northumbria. It is now connected to the mainland by a causeway that is drivable at low tide.

In 635, King Oswald of Northumbria brought St Aiden from Ireland to Christianize his kingdom. St Aiden was given this island to build a monastery and a centre of learning. One of the monks produced the Lindisfarne Gospels during this time. They are on a par with The Book of Kells and are kept in the British Library.

This is a bad picture to give you some idea of the beautiful front pages. 

The first Viking raid in the UK took place here in 793. By 875, after repeated raids, the monks gave up and left, carrying the body of St Cuthbert with them.

A medieval priory was built of the local sandstone. It was destroyed during Henry V111's time and the stones used to build a fort to keep the Scots away from the mouth of the Tweed.

It's still a place of pilgrimage, even though St Cuthbert now lives in Durham