Librarians' Christian Fellowship

A dozen Christian librarians huddled in the rain and cold in the entrance to Bath Abbey at the beginning of LCF's first visit to Bath for 7 years. Umbrellas were much in evidence!

The Abbey Church of Saint Peter and Saint Paul, Bath is a Church of England parish church and a former Benedictine monastery. The original religious community was founded in the 7th century and re-organised in the 10th century. The Abbey which was rebuilt in the 12th and 16th centuries is said to be one of the largest examples of Perpendicular Gothic architecture in the West of England.

Along with other monastic establishments, Bath Abbey was dissolved by order of King Henry VIII in the 16th century and building was stripped and left to decay. In 1574, however, Elizabeth I authorised the restoration of the church as the main parish church of the city of Bath, a position that it retains today despite its cathedral-like appearance.

The Abbey houses several notable memorials to:
• Beau Nash, celebrated leader of fashion and Master of Ceremonies in 18th century Bath
• James Montague, a former Bishop of Bath and Wells.

Perhaps the most entertaining, however, is a stone inscription to a nineteenth century solicitor of Bath who is said to have died and attained a “blessed immorality”. This should, of course, have read “blessed immortality” but this unfortunate Freudian slip has been highlighted rather than covered up by later attempts to correct the wording.

The Bath Abbey Diptychs, One Man's Journey to Heaven, a series of 35 panels depicting the life of Christ in text, image, and needlework were on display. These were created by Sue Symons after attending a performance of Bach's St. Matthew Passion in the Abbey. Copies of a book depicting the pangel are available from the Abbey shop.

Some of the group visited the Bath Abbey Heritage Vaults Museum located in the restored eighteenth century cellars to see exhibits depicting the Abbey's history. Others browsed in the Abbey shop while the more energetic joined a tour of the Tower which provided a panoramic view of the city.

After the visit, we made our way to the Royal Hotel, Bath, for lunch and then to the nearby Manvers Street Baptist Church for our annual public lecture which attracted a good attendance of LCF members and members of local churches. Our Vice-President Margaret Keeling chaired the lecture, Richard Greatrex, of Wesley Owen, organised the bookstall, and local publisher Robert Hicks, of Creative Publishing, gave the closing vote of thanks.

After the lecture a few members returned to the Abbey for a service of Choral Evensong, featuring music from the Oriana Singers.

A more detailed version of this report by Graham Hedges is available in the Winter 2010 issue of Christian Librarian.