When the Chipps are down

 This is classic me. Mr GBT and I were tossing ideas back and forth as to where we might stop for a cuppa on our outward journey for our recent trip away. I suggested Chippenham as we'd been before and liked it when we'd popped in years ago. "What's there?" himself asked [not too unreasonably] to which I listed several 'things of interest'. Turns out there were a couple of holes in my plan....for starters it was Chipping Campden we'd been before and some of my things to see were in Chippenham, but not the one in Wiltshire, but in Cambs😆 Ah well I was never one to let a couple of minor glitches get in the way of exploring and it did mean we ended up going somewhere completely new even if it wasn't quite what we had intended!!

As ever just a random series of shots from our wander around. It was a bit showery, but we managed to turn up some stuff.

Barber related topiary.... note I have resisted the temptation to use that combination of the words "bush" and "trim" in the same sentence 😈

The Buttercross dates from 1570 and gets its name from the time when dairy products would have been sold from beneath it.

The Yelde Hall [Guildhall] is another survivor from around that period. Those selling goods in the town's market would have set their stalls out in front of it in times gone by. It's open on Saturdays.

One of the local characters Chippenham is famous for is Maud Heath. Legend has it that she was one of the market traders who walked down from Wick Hill across the very boggy ground into the town to sell her eggs. In reality little is known of her save she was a wealthy widow who left a couple of properties which funded the building of a permanent causeway in 1474 which is still in use today. It's now maintained by the council. This plaque is in the free museum along with many other fascinating exhibits.

I am simply unable to resist the temptation of photograph anything which was probably Morris related in origin as below.

The beautifully embroidered gloves belonged the Royalist Sharington Talbot. He inherited Lacock Abbey, but because he backed the wrong side he ended up being imprisoned and his home was confiscated. Unlike many others he survived the Civil War and was able to buy it back again!

This tiny little sandal is a Roman oil lamp. It's survived in remarkable condition and if you look closely at the brass lock below it you'll notice that it's got a bird and a boot on it. Amazing as these details would never have been seen by anyone bar the locksmith who made them [it's possibly the work of Samuel Gale.]

We both agreed that this poster about raising fuel for the poor is very timely. It's sad that here we are all these years later still having the same conversations😢

This antique shop is right next to the parish church. It's not often you come across one called "The Hand of Glory." For anyone not familiar with what one of these is there's some information about the most infamous one in Whitby https://www.thewhitbyguide.co.uk/hand-of-glory/. It seemed a slightly more unusual placement.

Whilst we were there naturally we ventured into the church for a quick spin around. It was a bit of a shock to the system as it was midway through a baby and toddler session. I'm very out of practise with being around small kinderlings so we didn't stay long, but it's great to see the church being used by the community as they were meant to be. The grave stone below is to Clerk and his wife Alis founders of a chantry. It's most likely that this was John Clerk who was active during the reign of Edward III who reigned from 1327-77. It was removed from the church floor during renovations in 1847. I thought that the stained glass angels were rather stunning too. They were given to the church by the Wilson family after they had lost three sons in the Great War. It was designed by Christopher Whall.

If we've got enough time we do like to get ourselves away from the main thoroughfare and see if there's anything tucked away. This is how we came upon this rather thought provoking piece of art. One of my favourite things is to see old buildings having a new purpose. The former Methodist chapel housed the Spinkes Printworks until 1978. It is now a private house and if you think you recognise the red brick one, but can't think for the life of you why it's the one on the opening sequence of the "Antiques Roadshow"!

Not bad for a place we went to by accident!

Arilx