Vestiges of another people and another faith were likewise here
discernible, for where the Saxon forefathers of the village prayed and
slumbered in death, the Roman invaders of the isle had trodden, and
perchance performed their religious rites; some traces of an encampment
being found in the churchyard by the historian of the spot, while the
north boundary of the hallowed precincts was formed by a deep foss, once
encompassing the nigh-obliterated fortification. Besides these records
of an elder people, there was another memento of bygone days and creeds,
in a little hermitage and chapel adjoining it, founded in the reign of
Edward III., by Henry, Duke of Lancaster, for the support of two
recluses and a priest to say masses daily for him and his descendants;
but this pious bequest being grievously abused in the subsequent reign
of Henry VI., by Isole de Heton, a fair widow, who in the first
transports of grief, vowing herself to heaven, took up her abode in the
hermitage, and led a very disorderly life therein, to the great scandal
of the Abbey, and the great prejudice of the morals of its brethren, and
at last, tired even of the slight restraint imposed upon her, fled away
"contrary to her oath and profession, not willing, nor intending to be
restored again;" the hermitage was dissolved by the pious monarch, and
masses ordered to be said daily in the parish church for the repose of
the soul of the founder. Such was the legend attached to the little
cell, and tradition went on to say that the anchoress broke her leg in
crossing Whalley Nab, and limped ever afterwards; a just judgment on
such a heinous offender. Both these little structures were picturesque
objects, being overgrown with ivy and woodbine. The chapel was
completely in ruins, while the cell, profaned by the misdoings of the
dissolute votaress Isole, had been converted into a cage for vagrants
and offenders, and made secure by a grated window, and a strong door
studded with broad-headed nails.
The view from the churchyard, embracing the vicarage-house, a
comfortable residence, surrounded by a large walled-in garden, well
stocked with fruit-trees, and sheltered by a fine grove of rook-haunted
timber, extended on the one hand over the village, and on the other over
the Abbey, and was bounded by the towering and well-wooded heights of
Whalley Nab. On the side of the Abbey, the most conspicuous objects were
the great north-eastern gateway, with the ruined conventual church. Ever
beautiful, the view was especially so on the present occasion, from the
animated scene combined with it; and the pleasant prospect was enjoyed
by a large assemblage, who had adjourned thither to witness the
concluding part of the festival.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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