Pilgrim Ways

in Cornwall, where an apparition of St.Michael had appeared in 495; to Walsingham in 1479, where an apparition of the Virgin appeared in 1061; and in 1480, to Glastonbury, with its ancient legends associated with Joseph of Arimathea and Christ Himself. William Worcestre‟s hobby was topography, and from the details in his itineraries the reconstruction of the ancient Catholic pilgrim ways becomes possible. Clothed in his “pilgrim weedes” William would have been recognizable from the traditional pilgrim‟s attire. These are recorded in the medieval ballad which tells us the romantic story of a girl trying to find her pilgrim lover: And how should I your true love know From many another one?

O by his cockle hat and staff And by his sandal shoone.

The pilgrim‟s clothes were rich in symbolism. A small pouch was too small to carry much money - indicating the pilgrim‟s dependence on charity. A staff, whose wood recalled the Cross and the hope of salvation, would be used to ward of the dogs and wolves - and, symbolically, to resist the evil one. It was also a support: the pilgrim‟s third leg and hence symbolic of the Trinity. The tunic, or sclavein, represented the pilgrim‟s humanity and would sometimes be patched with crosses. A rosary of large beads would hang from the neck. The pilgrim would wear a large brimmed hat, attached at the back with a long scarf, and the hat would be decorated with scallop shells or with small lead images of Mary,the Mother of God, and the saints. Writing in the fifteenth century a Dominican suggested that the staff, pouch and tunic represented faith, hope and charity.

Norwich To London In 1478, as William set off, he recorded that “On Monday, 17th of August I began my journey from Norwich to St.Michael‟s Mount in Cornwall.” The first stage took three days and brought him to London. Stopping overnight at monasteries in Thetford and Saffron Walden, he spent the last night at an inn at Harlow. Riding through Epping Forest he entered London over Bow Bridge, through Whitechapel and to the City where he passed the Nunnery of the Order of St.Clare. The nuns were called Minoresses, giving the quarter its long-lasting name, the Minories. With its then massive population of 40,000 people the City boasted one hundred churches - with the Norman Cathedral of St.Paul‟s rising above them all.

London To Devizes Here William stayed for six days. London boasted many inns but the pilgrims usually made for the Walnut tree or the Tabard - which had impeccable reputations. Crossing London Bridge - which was packed with shops, houses, a guard house and chapel - , William entered Southwark and across marshy country to Wandsworth. From here he headed south west, to Kingston, Guilford, Farnham and Alton - where he stopped overnight at an inn. The following day he dined at the Bishop of Winchester‟s house at Bishop‟s Waltham and from here, on to Southampton, where he stayed at God‟s House, the Hostel of St.Julian (a little to the east of where the quayside met the High Street). From here he traveled along the banks of the Test to Romsey Abbey - spending Saturday night there and leaving early the following morning after Mass. He then rode on for seventeen miles to Salisbury. At Salisbury he saw England‟s highest spire before heading on for a further four miles to Eilton, the ancient