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In Great Britain the time is 18:05
on
Monday 06 Feb
2012
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LINDISFARNE OR HOLY ISLAND
The
village contains a 13th century church and many gems of Northumbrian
domestic architecture, single storey houses with pantiled roofs and
mall paned windows interspersed with two storey buildings and high
old walls. Most streets are narrow except for the Market Square and
Fiddlers' Green. the entire village was designed to accommodate several
hundred people and it's present depopulation gives the place an empty
look and rather a tranquil air. The medieval village with its small
cottages, mansions and walled gardens can still be picked out.
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HOLY ISLAND CASTLE
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The castle was built for the defence of the harbour in 1543 using stone from the ruined Prior, is romantically placed and stands as a landmark for miles around. It never saw any action, which was fortunate as it was manned only by a captain, two master gunners, a master's mate and twenty soldiers. Once England and Scotland were united the castle lost it's importance but it continued in use as a military station. After the Civil War the castle was neglected and eventually only used by coastguards until the beginning of the century when Sir Edwin Lutyens restored the interior. The sober rooms with their plain oak paneling and Tudor furniture are models of their kind.
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THE PRIORY
The Norman Benedictine Priory built in 1083 is roofless and ruined, but the arches and half arches of dark sandstone framing the sky and sea are still serenely beautiful.
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Holy Island is well named as it was the seat of a Saxon bishopric in the seventh century, founded by St. Aidan at the invitation of King Oswald of Northumbria. The original community under Aidan lived in gaunt austerity and it was left for Aidan's successor Finan (652-61) to build a church suitable for a Bishop's seat. The Venerable Bede in his "Ecclesiastical History of the English Nation" describes the church as "Made not of stone, but hewn oak, and covered with reeds".
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It was during this period that Lindisfarne became a centre of spiritual, evangelical and intellectual activity unparalleled in the English church, and it was the great centre of Christianity in Saxon English church, and it was the great centre of Christianity in Saxon England for the next. The fame of the island bishopric spread throughout the western world and pilgrims still visit Lindisfarne in memory of this golden age.
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Cuthbert became prior at Lindisfarne around the year 664 and introduced a mixture of Roman and Celtic rules gradually winning the admiration of the monks, but the Celtic side of his nature gradually asserted itself and he withdrew from participation in the affairs of the monastery to live on an island just to the south-west of Lindisfarne, now known as St. Cuthbert's Island.
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St Cuthbert's Island from the Priory |
However, the greater isolation of the island Inner Farne, some seven miles away was more attractive to him, as he needed complete physical isolation and bodily subjugation to develop a deeper spiritual understanding. He lived the life of a hermit, shutting himself up in his cell for longer and longer periods.
Cuthbert returned to Lindisfarne as Bishop after a short period at Hexham and he travelled extensively throughout his see. After two years as Bishop, he resigned and returned to the Inner Farne. he died in 687 within a year of leaving Lindisfarne.
During the Bishopric of Eadfrith 698-721, the magnificent Lindisfarne Gospels were produced by the monks. This beautiful manuscript can be seen in the British Museum. Church embroiderers still use the designs of these illuminations in their work, and some of the designs known as Lindisfarne tracery have been used on silver produced in Newcastle.
The community on Lindisfarne continued to thrive until 793 when it was ravaged by the Vikings and those monks who could not escape in time, perished. Later the monastery was restored and continued uninterrupted until 875, when because of attacks by the Danes in the area, Bishop Eardulp decided to abandon the monastery. The monks took the remains of Cuthbert, the head of St. Oswald, the Lindisfarne Gospels and other valuable relics and began their wanderings over much of northern England. In 883 they settled in Chester-le-Street where they remained for the next 100 years.
From 875 until the Norman Conquest, Lindisfarne remained in desolation. No mention of the island is made in any documents of the time, nor have any archaeological remains of that era been found on the island.
In 1082, Holy Island came to life again when a community of Benedictine monks were granted permission to settle there. The priory church which they built on the site of the old monastery, and whose ruins can be seen today, was constructed along the lines of Durham Cathedral. Lindisfarne remained a peaceful sanctuary for over four centuries under the rule of the Benedictine monks who farmed the land profitably and lived well. But, the dissolution of the monasteries by Henry VIII in the sixteenth century brought an end to the island's prosperity. the priory itself was demolished in 1541 and the other buildings rapidly declined.
Lindisfarne is an island rich in both flora and fauna, and the bird population on and around the island is remarkable in variety of species and in number.
Distances
Holy Island is 3 miles from the Al at Beal Filling Station. Beal is 9 miles south of Berwick-upon-Tweed or 45 miles north of Newcastle-upon-Tyne.
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