| Off the beaten track
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| St Ives Cambridgeshire
A personal view
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Please scroll down the page, or, if you know where you want to go, just click any of the coloured names on the map. (There are more detailed maps of St Ives on this site.) |
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 Nothing remains of the Priory (founded in 1017) except for this (restored) part of the wall of a 13th century barn that used to be in its grounds, a 12th century grotesquely carved gargoyle in the garden of the Norris Museum on the Broadway, and possibly some medieval stonework, now suppporting the exterior walls of the Norris Museum.To see the wall, turn down Priory Road from Market Hill (almost opposite the bus station), and it is on the right-hand side, just round the corner from the old house that was built on the priory site, now converted into offices. There was a 6 week archaeological dig in 1998 before there was further building of flats on the site, but no remains were found either of the priory (no-one knows exactly where it was) or the Roman villa that was probably somewhere near - perhaps under the house! But there were considerable remains of Roman and Anglo-Saxon pottery. |
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 Between the bottom end of Priory Road and the Quay is Wellington Street (which was once called Fish Street, where fish brought in by barges from Kings Lynn used to be sold). A few yards down it, is the pink-washed Oliver Cromwell pub (recommended). This dates from the early 18th century. Outside is the wrought-iron sign bracket that belonged to the Ship Inn that used to be on the Quay. The (modern) picture now on it shows, in the background, the old Jacobean house that can still be recognised on the right of the bridge (see below). The area round here is known as the Lanes and is a network of narrow alleyways, established when the area had to be rebuilt following the Great Fire of 1689. |
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| This old Jacobean house (now shops and restaurants), on the town side of the bridge, dates from the beginning of the 17th century, but it has been much changed inside. It is sometimes called the Manor House - but it was never that! |
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 All Saints Parish Church was built to replace a wooden Saxon church dating back to 970, and marks the site of the original village of Slepe. The first stone church was built here in 1150, then in 1470 there was a complete rebuilding.Among those who worshipped here was Oliver Cromwell who left his signature in the vestry book (see the top signature in the photo below). A fellow worshipper was the puritan-with-a-sense-of-humour Dr Robert Wilde, a clerygman (and poet -- of a sort, but his poetry was popular at the time), who left a will when he died in 1679, leaving £50, which was to be invested in land to produce an income of £3 a year. Then each year at Whitsun, six boys and six girls were to be chosen to cast dice on the altar to select six winners who would each be awarded a bible.The idea, of course, was to show his Puritan disregard for the altar. Despite the Anglo-Catholicism of All Saints today, this ceremony is still held every year, although the dice are now cast on  a plain wooden table. 24 children (of four different denominations, including Roman Catholics) - or as many as can be persuaded to take part - now gamble for 12 bibles. Dr Wilde himself, of course, would have been far from pleased by all the high church decoration and statuary now to be found in the church! Most of the present building dates back to the late 15th century. The richly decorated interior of the church is worth seeing, although much of it is comparatively recent. The fine rood screen and figures of saints on the pillars are by Sir Ninian Comper (1893), but the carved stone brackets below them go back to 1470. The font in the left foreground is Norman and comes from the earlier church. The church is sometimes open on weekday afternoons (or you can arrange to get the key by phoning the vicar, Father James Pullen, on 01480-463254) - an improvement on the old days when, except during service time, it was nearly always kept shut for security reasons. A Sung Eucharist is celebrated every Sunday at 10.15am. There are numerous old tombstones in the (no longer used) churchyard including this one, now leaning against the church, which reads (as far as I can make out): "Here lye the remains of Alice Marcinal (?) The wife of Tho Marc who Departed this life December 27 1706 Aged 24 yeares".
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| The White Post |  |
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| The post as seen before and after renovation. This is an interesting old direction post to the north of the town, on the side of the roundabout between the road leading to Somersham and a second roundabout, on the opposite side to the petrol station. Originally erected in 1772, it was discovered in two pieces, acting as gateposts for Republic Cottage, an old toll-bar house. When the cottage was demolished for road widening, the White Post was restored to what was thought to have been its original position by the county surveyor. But it probably wasn't its original position, as it includes a "London" sign that points the wrong way. Or it's even possible that "London" was a mistake for "Huntingdon"! Go on to MORE OFF THE BEATEN TRACK |
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Merryland 
Alongside the graveyard in this photo is this old church wall. The track that usually runs alongside it and down to the river is here seen flooded (the river proper is behind the two big trees). It was during a great flood in 1571, that the water is said to have risen so high that "boats were rowed over the churchyard wall, two yards high, without touching it."