Every year, on the second Saturday of September, two events combine across the West of England to provide a great free day out, with an opportunity to raise funds that maintain our historic churches.
Heritage open days in mid-September brings history and heritage to life. It is supported by organisations such as the National Trust and English Heritage who provide free access to participating sites, offering a chance to visit places that are not normally open to the public.
Ride and Stride raises funds for the many historic church buildings around the region. Members of local churches set off on sponsored walks, cycles, or rides, visiting churches and other historic locations in their area. Many of these are open to visitors, with a good number providing refreshments and toilet facilities.
A local tour
Here in Kingswood, Wotton-under-Edge, St Mary’s Church, and Kingswood Abbey Gatehouse (English Heritage) are both open for the Heritage Open Days. Members of the church and friends also regularly take part in the Ride and Stride, supporting the Gloucestershire Historic Churches Trust.
This year, John Green and I set off from St Mary’s with a picnic to visit seven local churches, Horton Court (National Trust) and the Hill Fort at Old Sodbury (Historic England).
But for me, the best part was not simply seeing buildings. It was the opportunity to meet others who share a passion for history and discovering how much they knew about the places we were visiting.
Hills and vales
Our first challenge was cycling up to Hillesley from Kingswood. It can be a bit of a struggle, but we managed it without having to push our bikes and reached St Giles just as it was opening. We stopped for a chat with Martin, a local church goer, who was preparing for a concert in the church that evening.
Leaving Hillesley. we started to get glimpses of the wide expanse of the Severn Vale unfolding below. The views only got better. Rather than follow the road round to Hawkesbury, we decided to follow a more direct-looking track. As St Mary’s came into sight, we met a Dutch couple and, naturally, started talking history.
The conversation moved to Edward II, his murder in Berkeley and the local story that his body was rejected by the Abbott at Kingswood before being taken to Gloucester, where he was entombed in the then Abbey, now Cathedral. It turned out that our Dutch friends knew as much about the Plantagenet Kings as we did!
St Mary’s itself is an outstanding Norman church and has been very well looked after. Inside, we met another historian with his young daughter. He had only recently settled in the area and, having been brought up in the Northeast, was telling us about the small number of churches built in the Republican period, including one in Berwick.
Coffee and cake
From there, we headed off along a narrow, undulating road to Horton. As we climbed the views started to be become wider. By now, it was late morning and time for a coffee break. When we reached St James the Elder, we found tables and chairs outside. Inside was roaring trade, and I marvelled at the efficiency of the volunteers pouring drinks and serving slices of cake, they were much too busy to chat. We found a table by the piano to enjoy our coffee and cake and consult the map.
Refreshed, we walked the bikes round to Horton Court. This National Trust property is now available for those with very deep pockets to rent for holidays or celebrations, but this weekend gave the public a rare opportunity to see the Norman Hall that adjoins the main house. A display there illustrated mediaeval society and its dependence on slavery.
We then headed for Little Sodbury, taking the Cotswold Way which provided a much more direct and scenic route than the road. Along the way, we met a couple from Dallas who were walking the entire length of the Cotswold way towards Bath. We said hello and pedalled on, but our paths would continue to cross.
The route included a steep descent, which we tackled on foot, and several kissing gates that required some ingenuity to manoeuvrer our bikes through.
Texan friends
St Adeline’s was the only church we were unable get inside. Nearby, William Tyndale spent several years teaching, and a plaque outside the church claims that it was here that he was inspired to translate the Bible into English. Here, the couple from Dallas caught up with us. They were already familiar with Tyndale, having passed his monument at North Nibley.
From Little Sodbury, the Cotswold Way follows the road for a little, then leaves the road to climb up a steep path through woodland to the large earthworks of an Iron Age fort. The site was later used by the Romans and, again much later still, as a mustering point for the Parliamentarian Army before its march north to the Battle of Tewkesbury.
The surrounding woodland now hides what would once have been a commanding view across the vale.
As we were admiring the site we bid a final farewell to the walkers from Dallas who were heading for the Dog and Duck, a local public house.
We continued to follow the Cotswold Way as it led to St John the Baptist at Old Sodbury where we finally stopped for our picnic, with the wide expanse of the Severn Vale laid out in front of us. By now the sky was clearing and the September sun appeared.
Journey’s end
After lunch, we rode downhill, passing the Dog and Duck where those without picnics could lunch while we headed for St John the Baptist in Chipping Sodbury. On our way we passed the George Hotel. A sign outside the hotel records its former role as the “The Great Hospice” used to accommodate pilgrims travelling to Kingswood Abbey.
After Chipping Sodbury, we headed to Holy Trinity Wickwar, where there was more coffee and cake and to catch up with friends from our neighbouring parish.
We had got there just in time to climb up the church tower. Halfway up, we met one of the bell ringers, who had only just started bell ringing six months earlier, but was already confident explaining the various bells, the order in which they hung, and their basic mechanics.
At the top of the tower, we were able to pick out many familiar landmarks, and there were others there to identify those we didn’t know.
Back in Kingswood, we were disappointed to find that no cyclists on the Ride and Stride had visited St Mary’s this year but over 20 people had visited Kingswood Abbey Gatehouse, with several also going into the church.
It turned out to be really enjoyable day, and we raised £1,000 that will be divided between St Mary’s Church and the Gloucestershire Historic Churches Trust. So, wherever you are in the West of England, why not get involved with Ride and Stride or Heritage Open Days? Get on your bike, put on your walking shoes, and get out as we did to explore the history and heritage of your area.
As our friends from Dallas observed: “You just have so much of it”.
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