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Peterborough Cathedral Study by Ian Scott Massie
Original Watercolour and Ink
12" x 10" Mounted size - 7" x 5" Image size
Available: unframed @ £215
To shop, please click here
12" x 10" Mounted size - 7" x 5" Image size
Available: unframed @ £215
To shop, please click here
THE BISHOP AND BIGGLESWADE
I’ve travelled through Biggleswade station so many times, flashing by on the train north or south, but this little town has always been a place of some importance. The Great North Road, which follows the line of a Roman predecessor passes through the town. It was a prosperous little place in the Middle Ages - a prime gift for Henry I to bestow on Bishop Alexander the Magnificent of Lincoln in 1132.
In the fourteenth century there was a pressing need for a new stone bridge and, as Lord of the Manor, the Bishop of Lincoln would normally have been expected to pay for it. Bishop Dalderby however, the incumbent at that time, was a canny financial operator who saw a way to save his money. His approach was to raise the finance by offering indulgences to those who would fund the bridge.
Buying an indulgence was a way of easing the journey of the soul on its way to paradise. Medieval christians believed that a period in the torments of purgatory awaited them after death. Purchasing an indulgence issued by a Bishop or a Pope shortened or removed this unpleasant obstruction completely.
The offer must have seemed too good to turn down since the bridge was built and to an excellent standard. It lasted until 1796.
In the fourteenth century there was a pressing need for a new stone bridge and, as Lord of the Manor, the Bishop of Lincoln would normally have been expected to pay for it. Bishop Dalderby however, the incumbent at that time, was a canny financial operator who saw a way to save his money. His approach was to raise the finance by offering indulgences to those who would fund the bridge.
Buying an indulgence was a way of easing the journey of the soul on its way to paradise. Medieval christians believed that a period in the torments of purgatory awaited them after death. Purchasing an indulgence issued by a Bishop or a Pope shortened or removed this unpleasant obstruction completely.
The offer must have seemed too good to turn down since the bridge was built and to an excellent standard. It lasted until 1796.
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