Church/Population Movement

There has been a tendency, slightly reversed in recent times, for the population to move out of city centres and into suburbs, and the churches have moved along with them. Hence, originally, there was St Mary's in Castro (in the Castle), which moved outside the defensive walls of the Castle, but still within the protective city walls, to St Mary's-on-the-Hill. This, too became redundant in its' turn, when the church moved to Handbridge and became St Mary's-without-the-Walls, on-the-hill being reduced in status to a chapel-of-ease,or secondary church.

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September

September, far from being autumnal, has begun in a burst of warm weather. Plants and trees seem uncertain as to what is going on, and I saw a magnolia tree with a fair number of blooms on it the other day.

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Walk Mill II

The original Walk Mill was demolished, and has been rebuilt by the current owners on the same footprint. They used many of the original items, including the floor tiles, sack hoist, and damsel (the spindle which strikes the shoe to distribute grain into eye of stones, and can been seen in the photo below right). Other artefacts have been found close to the mill site dating back to 973 A.D.

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Walk Mill I

Walk Mill is out at Waverton, where they grow their own wheat. You can look out of the Mill window and see the field where the wheat is growing, watch it being ground by the water-powered mill, and buy the bread and flour. Zero food miles, and a very good product. They also sell cakes, presumably made using the eggs from the hens and ducks that wander around. You can find out more here: http://www.walkmillflour.co.uk/

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River Gowy

The River Gowy runs through Cheshire. It looks quiet and sleepy, but once used to power up to 20 water mills. Today, there are still a handful of mills left, including Walk Mill (of which more later), and I am told that at least one private residence is using the river to provide all their electricity. Popular with fishermen, it is home to several rare invertebrates, and has a thriving eel population.

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Ironsides

Ironsides (or Parliamentarians) were on parade at the recent Living History day at St John's, and for those of you who have always wondered what went on under those helmets, I can exclusively reveal that they wore a linen bonnet (see below).

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Town Hall Weddings

Now that the Town Hall has been refurbished, they are promoting its' hire for weddings more fiercely. And, to be fair, what a great location for a wedding - a beautiful Council Chamber to do the deed in, those steps to be photographed on, and that handy parking right outside...

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