A trip to Waltham Abbey, Essex with my son. This is a long way from home for west Londoners! We are in Essex - unusually - and taken by surprise by the size and beauty of Waltham Abbey. Thought to be the burial place of King Harold, killed by the invading Normans at the Battle of Hastings in 1066.
He'd just defeated the Vikings up north (no small achievement) and stopped here on the way down to Hastings to pray for victory. But - of course - things didn't go his way. A resounding defeat - recorded in embroidery in the Bayeux tapestry.
Whether this headstone dates from 1066 is doubtful.
But stones set in a herring-bone pattern in the Abbey wall apparently do. Back to patterns and place - the theme of this blog.
