Revisiting Dorset

From 1984-1985, I lived in Charmouth and Bridport as part of a British Youth for Christ (YFC) team. Together with Debbie, Jenny and Mark, we were a voluntary youth work team which organized a mission, holiday club, Youth Services, took assemblies/lessons in schools and engaged with those using an Unemployed Workers Centre.

There were some special people involved in this initiative, both locally and centrally for YFC. Rev Bob Lucas and Ray Dobson were two of those involved locally. Bob Lucas was Rector of St Andrew's Charmouth, while Ray Dobson becaame Founding Elder for Bridport Christian Fellowship. Paul and Sally Nash were our YFC mentors and went on to have significant ordained roles in chaplaincy and training. Read more about their experiences and reflections at their blog Marker Posts and Shelters. Mark Ord, who was on the team, became a Baptist minister and is currently ministering at Yardley Wood Baptist Church.

I have just returned from a week's holiday in Dorset and, on the last day, had the joy of meeting up with Ray Dobson at Bridport Christian Fellowship and hearing about the ministry of the Fellowship following its founding soon after our team had been ministering in the area. It was also very special to meet Dave Collins, Leading Elder at the Fellowship, who became a Christian during the year that our team were in the area and later gained valuable experience himself on a different YFC team in another area.

For our holiday, we were based in Litton Cheney, where our holiday cottage had artworks by John Gosbee who lived in the cottage from 1996-2016. Our holiday included visits to Lyme Regis, Abbotsbury Swannery, Charmouth beach, Lulworth Cove, Dorset Museum and Art Gallery, Max Gate, Monkey World, and West Bay, among other locations.

Lyme Regis nestles in an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty at the point where the dramatic West Dorset and East Devon coastlines meet – right at the heart of the UNESCO World Heritage site known as the Jurassic Coast. The town is regarded as the 'Pearl of Dorset' and is renowned for its natural beauty, fossils, literary connections and extraordinarily rich heritage, it is also famous for being the birthplace of Mary Anning, one of history’s most important fossil collectors and palaeontologists.

The East beach at Charmouth is a good place to find pyrite ammonite and also belemnite fossils loose amongst the pebbles. Charmouth beach is divided into two by the mouth of the River Char which is often dammed by the beach forming a lagoon suitable for boating or watching the many ducks and swans. In summer the expanses of sand and gently shelving waters make it the ideal family beach. In autumn and winter the effect of storms and the waves on the cliffs create a haven for fossil collectors. Charmouth Fossils have appeared on numerous television programmes, and are displayed in museums throughout the world.

The pebble beach and blue waters of Lulworth Cove make it an extremely popular destination. The Cove and surrounding coastline are part of the world famous Jurassic Coast - a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Low tide reveals wonderful rock pools teeming with sea creatures – great for exploring with children. It is just a short walk to other famous landmarks along the coast such as Stair Hole and Durdle Door. Stair Hole is reputed to be the inspiration for the location of Enid Blyton’s book ‘The Rubadub Mystery’. The coast around Lulworth is also a fantastic place to see blow holes, caves, arches and coves.

With the stunning golden glow of the majestic sandstone cliffs and the shimmering radiance of Golden Cap, West Bay is the Golden Gateway to the Jurassic Coast. West Bay nestles south of Bridport, between Eype with Seatown to the west and Freshwater with Burton Bradstock to the east. Situated at the western end of Chesil Beach / Chesil Bank, the area forms part of the Dorset Jurassic Coast World Heritage Site within Lyme Bay. West Bay is a wonderful location for coast and countryside walks, fossil hunting, fishing / angling trips, scuba diving, paragliding, golfing, river boating and more. The Dorset historic market town of Bridport lies one and a half miles inland from the West Bay coast.

The Dorset Museum and Art Gallery began by collecting natural history and archaeology. Literature, fine art, textiles, costumes, local history, and photography collections grew over time. The Thomas Hardy collection was a major bequest in 1937. 30 sculptures and over 100 prints and drawings by Elisabeth Frink were provided to the Museum in accordance with the wishes of the artist’s late son, Lin Jammet. One of the Museum's Founder's was Revd Henry Moule, a radical reformer who fearlessly campaigned for the poor, and was an early conservationist and environmentalist.

Max Gate, an austere but sophisticated town house a short walk from the town centre of Dorchester, was the home of Dorset's most famous author and poet Thomas Hardy. Hardy, who designed the house in 1885, wanted to show that he was part of the wealthy middle classes of the area, to reflect his position as a successful writer, and to enable him to enter polite society. The house was named after a nearby tollgate keeper called Henry Mack. The tollgate was known locally as ‘Mack’s Gate’, which Hardy then used with a different spelling when he named his house, ‘Max Gate’.

Abbotsbury Swannery is home to a colony of over 600 Mute Swans, located on the dramatic Dorset Coast. The Swannery was established by Benedictine Monks who built a monastery at Abbotsbury during the 1040s. The monks farmed the swans to produce food for their lavish Dorset banquets. St Peter’s monastery was destroyed in 1539, during the dissolution.

Set amongst the woodland of Dorset lays 65 acres of sanctuary for over 250 primates. Monkey World was set up in 1987 by Jim Cronin to provide abused Spanish beach chimps with a permanent, stable home. Today Monkey World works in conjunction with foreign governments from all over the world to stop the illegal smuggling of apes out of Africa and Asia. At the park visitors can see over 250 primates of more than 20 different species. At the Centre refugees of this illegal trade as well as those that have suffered abuse or neglect are rehabilitated into natural living groups.

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Jeremy Enigk - Amazing Worlds.

The Metropolitan Cathedral of Christ the King Liverpool

While in Liverpool today, there was also time to walk along Hope Street from the Anglican Cathedral to the Metropolitan Cathedral of Christ the King. 

Hope Street, which connects Liverpool’s two Cathedrals, has the Better Together - Sheppard Worlock memorial which celebrates the lives and achievements of Archbishop Derek Worlock and Bishop David Sheppard. The bronze sculpture takes the form of two 4.5m high doors. It’s strong visual presence frames the views of the Cathedrals and allows the viewer to walk between the ‘open doors’. Low relief press cuttings and other symbols from Bishop David and Archbishop Derek’s lives allow the audience to engage with the piece further.

The remarkable Metropolitan Cathedral of Christ the King is the largest Catholic cathedral in England. The Metropolitan Cathedral of Christ the King is a dramatic icon of faith, architecture, and human endeavour. It is an awe-inspiring landmark on the Liverpool skyline. The spirit of the Metropolitan Cathedral is deeply embedded in its fascinating history – a tale of determination, tenacity and conviction that, despite the odds, saw architects, builders, craftsmen, residents and church elders work together to fulfill their holy ambition. To create a place of special, deeply spiritual resonance for all who use it.

Architects throughout the world were invited in 1960 to design a Cathedral for Liverpool which would relate to the existing Crypt, be capable of construction within five years, cost at the current prices no more than £1,000,000 for its shell, and most important of all, express the new spirit of the liturgy then being radically reformulated by the Second Vatican Council. Of 300 entries from all over the world, Sir Frederick Gibberd’s (1908-1984) design was chosen, and building began in October 1962. A Pathé newsreel showed stages of the building process. Less than five years later, on the Feast of Pentecost, 14 May 1967, the completed Cathedral was consecrated.

Gibberd’s design was highly innovative and the circular plan form put the altar at the centre of everything, with sixteen structural ribs carrying the huge circular lantern of some two thousand tons which lights the body of the cathedral. Around the perimeter, chapels of various designs stand in the interstices of the ribs, separated by glazed strips to emphasise their independence from the main space.

Externally the building formed a crown rising above the city streets and providing a counterpoint to the large central tower of Giles Gilbert Scott’s Anglican cathedral, with the contrast further emphasised by the use of Portland stone to contrast with Scott’s red sandstone. Internally a large baldacchino is suspended over the altar, its design reflecting the structure of the cathedral and the ‘crown of thorns’ of the lantern above.

The Cathedral's majestic interior includes modern works of art and stunning design features, such as its striking Lantern Tower - the world’s largest area of coloured glass. The stained glass to the main lantern was designed by John Piper and Patrick Reyntiens and depicts in abstract the Trinity using the three primary colours. Various artworks were commissioned from leading artists and sculptors including Elisabeth Frink, Ceri Richards, Margaret Trehearne and Sean Rice. The gates of the freestanding baptistery adjoining the building, and the floor pattern were by David Atkins, an artist who was a member of the Gibberd practice.

Of special note is the magnificent Lutyens Crypt and Treasury, situated within the Cathedral. An architectural gem in its own right, the Crypt is one of the most significant works in this country of the leading British architect Sir Edwin Lutyens. Part of an earlier Cathedral design, the Crypt offers a fascinating glimpse of what might have been, had it been completed.

The Cathedral is currently hosting the sculpture ‘The Need for Freedom’ by prominent contemporary Ukrainian artist, Dmytro Iv. This striking artwork, which shows the figure of a chained but rising woman, represents Ukraine’s struggle for peace and freedom. Created in 2012 and measuring 7 foot in height, it consists of dozens of steel chains welded together in over four thousand points. The artwork was previously exhibited in the UK in 2015, when it won a silver award at the prestigious international contemporary art festival ‘Passion for Freedom’.

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Echo and the Bunnymen - What Are You Going To Do With Your Life?