Easter Monday I was out on my bike. It was windy and quite cold. After 35 miles cycling up the Wharfe Valley, I was in Hubberholme, just north of Buckden. Usually I don’t like to stop whilst training, but my back was aching and it was starting to rain, so I stopped by this church in the small hamlet of Hubberholme.
It turns out the church “St Michael and All Angels, Hubberholme” is quite interesting and historical. It dates from the 12th Century when it was first built as a Forest Chapel of the Norman hunting forest of Langstrothdale Chase. It is also likely the site of an old Anglo-Norse burial ground. There is also a rare ‘Rood loft’ which arrived in the church in 1558.
There was also a memorial to the writer J.B.Priestley (b. Bradford 1894) who described the church as “one of the smallest and most pleasant places in the world”
I don’t particularly mark Easter; on good Friday I was entering a cycle race. I happened to go into this church by chance, though you could take the downpour of rain one mile from Hubberholme as a gentle nudge to go inside and spend a moment in reflection. It was very peaceful and quiet inside. I didn’t stay too long, but it was long enough to remind yourself of the tragic and beautiful Easter story. In one sense the story of crucifixion and resurrection seems so far away, but in another sense it isn’t.
Bolton Abbey. On the way back I made another unscheduled stop to take a couple of photos of Bolton Abbey. This is a ruined monastery which has also been restored to provide a modern church.
The ruins of Bolton Abbey by the River Wharfe.