CROYLAND ABBEY & ST. GUTHLAC.

On a cold & rainy evening our speaker & guide Brian Jones, with his umbrella up, welcomed about twenty members & friends in the car park next to Croyland Abbey in the town of Crowland Lincs. Although it was our June meeting it didn’t stop raining during our visit inside the abbey & on the town tour afterwards.
Inside the Abbey we were able to see pictures describing the life of St. Guthlac & Brian elaborated on this with detailed information & on the history of the Abbey.
In the roof of the chancel we were shown the green man, the pagan symbol of fertility and inside the main door the alcove next to the font where the priests would wash their hands before carrying out Baptisms. The abbey itself has been destroyed & rebuilt many times & the ruins outside showed us how large it was in the past.
St Guthlac was born about 673AD and died & was buried at the abbey on the 11th April 714, a date which he himself predicted.
He was of noble stock being a prince, & as a young boy he was very pious.
After about eight years fighting in wars he became very remorseful & decided to enter a monastery. He entered Repton & has his head shaved.
After two years of penance & great attention to his monastic duties he decided to carry out the greater penance of the Fathers of the Desert .
For this & with two companions he took a boat to the lonely fenland isle of Croyland.
Fifteen years of solitude & rigid penance with fasting during daylight hours followed.
With only bread & dirty water taken in the evening he was often ill & delusional with the ‘evil one’. In spite of this Guthlac started to be the recipient of extreme powers & graces.
His sanctity became famous & brought many pilgrims to his cell & one Bishop Hedda raised him to the priest hood & consecrated his humble chapel.
Æthelbald spent part of his exile with Guthlac .After Guthlac died he appeared in a vision to Æthelbald & told him that one day he would be King.
The tour of the Crowland town included several interesting buildings including the three arched bridge which used to span three rivers which still run underground today.
Our July meeting is about Maps & Surveys 1910 by Liz Carter
[Barbara Holmes]