A Watching-Loft

What could it be? A honey coloured stone box overlooking the stump of Malmesbury Abbey’s nave.

In a time before the Church of England was re-established by Henry the eighth, the old Pope in Rome, and certainly not the rival Pope who resided in Avignon (1309-1376) - a puppet for the French crown and too much for the English monarch to bear - held significant influence over the spiritual needs of those living in England. Long before paper and pamphlets, hundreds of years before radio waves, the telly and central heating, wonderful creations which have kept us bottled up indoors for nearly a century, and of course electric light; for when night once fell, it really was lights out - candles were not cheap.

During the medieval travelling season, numerous pilgrims walked lonesome hillsides and quiet trackways to visit the many saints shrines dotted throughout the country. Each church competed for their share of this lucrative flow of visitors. Much like modern towns strive to attract shoppers and their wallets to their malls, cinemas and museums, so centuries ago - within a world steeped in superstition and hand me down tales - a hierarchy began to form from the 10th century onwards.

As saints emerged as significant figures within this context, their miracles captivated worshippers and effectively promoted destinations that were deemed essential for pilgrimage.

In Malmesbury a watching-loft still peers down over the congregation, now devoid of the pilgrim traffic it was designed for. A ancient quirk, as once a keen pair of eyes kept a quiet view on the steady footfall to Aldhelm’s shrine which once camped out below.