'Under the fish and over the water': Bradford-on-Avon's implausibly picturesque blind house

[@trainandbikefan]

Thanks for another interesting presentation... I guess you knew you didn't show the Anglo Saxon St Laurence Church mentioned, which of course has its own interesting history... and then there's the Tythe barn..... Guess we, your fans, should club together to fund a canal boat for you live on whilst completing Bradford on Avon's history 8¬))

[@PedestrianDiversions]

you give me too much credit unfortunately. I looked up st laurence church on google, oh yes its down church street, next day I walk down church st, oh yes here's a church that must be it. whoops. think perhaps i should 'retire' as i seem to keep making incredibly basic errors!

[@trainandbikefan]

@@PedestrianDiversions Don't think for one minute 'retiring' is the right answer! Where else would we (other pedantic West Country architectural archaeology enthusiasts) find such worthwhile information being posted for us to add our own two penn'orth..... after all I guess that's the basis of Wikepedia 8¬)))))

[@jfro5867]

Seems to me over the passage of time many things said often enough become the truth, when they’r not. Interesting video.

[@willjdeanie]

I had always assumed the term ‘blind house’ referred to its reputation for being the towns ‘drunk tank’, it’s occupants often being ‘blind drunk’ rather than a reference to its lack of windows.

[@JP_TaVeryMuch]

My Grandma who grew up nearby told me that she'd been told that it was a chapel when she was a girl. That's good enough for me! Thanks for re-illuminating long-faded memories of this from childhood in the back of the car. Apart from its own simple beauty, it also meant that Victoria Sponge and Walnut Whips at Grandma's were now just minutes away.

[@nodiggity9472]

The Fish on the top isn't even a Gudgeon, it's a Ruffe. A species that isn't even present in the River Avon. That always puzzled me growing up. The other name for the Ruffe, is the Pope, and I'm thinking maybe the Lock-up and the bridge's upkeep (and maybe even the bridge itself, were generously paid for by Shaftesbury Abbey, (who also were responsible for the Saxon earlier packhorse bridge at Barton Farm) who were the major Landowners from the 8thC onwards, so at the time of the Norman invasion things might have got a bit tricky. It might be a covert signifier to the Norman invaders that although predominantly still a Saxon owned concern, the Shaftesbury Grange fiefdom was under the protection of The Church, and therefore not subject to The Crown's levies and taxes. The 'Pope' on top of the 'Chapel' could have just been a reminder to the Normans that they only ruled under the sanction of the Pope. Or "Pontiff" (Bridge). "Under the Fish, and and over the water". could be a reference to that. Under the protection of The Pope, and above the river (revenue flow) of the King. And quite a revenue generator too, having to build the Tithe Barn just for the excess grain produced. So the first thing you'd see as you crossed the Bridge and into The Abbey Grange was the Pope. Anglo Saxon Gang-sign to remind William the Bastard not to 'eff around with The Pontiff. Maybe. Idk.

[@PedestrianDiversions]

I think maybe I should be watching your channel rather than vice versa

[@nodiggity9472]

@@PedestrianDiversions I don't have any content.

[@richardgale4827]

@@PedestrianDiversions This channel is our gateway drug.

[@MegaCj74]

Dear PD, there is one of these buildings on Mill Lane, Moncton Combe as well.

[@andrewrward]

Yes and I happened to be there on one of its open days. Again, it has been divided into two cells, but one is without even a tiny window.

[@patchso]

Keep up the ‘pedantry’, I’d call it attention to detail and it’s what makes your videos so good. Beautiful town! I’d love to put in a decent by-pass and pedestrianise the bridge and town centre.

[@bog123]

Very nice little video, you must be quite relieved that after that one video blew up the others have remained pretty much as they were before + a little bit more

[@PedestrianDiversions]

yeah sort of...social media is so dangerous...at the time I thought "gosh this is a bit overwhelming I hope it goes back to normal" but when it back to normal I admit I found myself thinking "awww why are my new videos flopping so badly in comparison 😥". dangerous how it moves your mental goalposts!

[@adrianrutterford762]

Fascinating. Thank you.

[@davebrown8215]

Nice one......Keep them coming🙂

[@PedestrianDiversions]

have been filming the next today...but then probably a fair gap as the ideas pipeline is quite dry plus I'm away for half of May

[@grahamthebaronhesketh.]

I noticed the offending building has a chimney. I would have thought that answered your question Jail or Chapel.

[@niceuneasy]

Fascinating England always throwing up something new!!

[@Electricdreams21]

My hometown. I love it but the traffic is awful 😢

[@zoeygeorge2403]

Took the bus from Bath to Trowbridge for an art foundation course last year and the journey was such a slog I'd usually find myself dozing off by the time it got to the bridge! The fog running through the Avon Valley on winter mornings made up for it though, was like something out of a fairy tale.

[@MrJohnQCitizen]

Cheers to you too

[@BillynBertie]

Very interesting presentation but as someone brought up in BonA, where my parents and grandparents and great grandparents all lived and died, we always referred to the 'chapel on the bridge'. I think there is often wisdom in local knowledge and it had been known as the 'chapel' for generations, even though of course the subsequent use as a lock up was recognised. Trying to find literary or academic references to it as a 'chapel' is not ultimately convincing either way. I will continue to believe it did at one time have that use, possibly for pilgrims.

[@PedestrianDiversions]

yes good point I should def have mentioned local oral history alongside the archaeology as bolstering the chapel theory despite the general absence of solid written sources

[@legerarts]

Are you planning any more of your wonderful, longer videos? 😁

[@PedestrianDiversions]

short answer- yup

[@PedestrianDiversions]

longer answer- not sure I can face 40-50 min ones again but I've got a couple part-filmed that I expect to be 20-30ish if that counts. youtube doesnt seem to like you taking months between uploads so I've been trying to multitask longer ones in the background while doing more frequent shorter ones, but not sure how successfully tbh!

[@legerarts]

@Pedestrian Diversions That is great to hear! Don't get me wrong, all your content is something I watch without delay - but your Bristol Byzantine video or your video about the changing river system are some of my favourites on KZbin. Your love for Bristol, architecture, and the atmosphere of walking through beautiful scenery are unique.

[@susanross963]

When we visited the 'Chapel ' on the bridge at St Ives, the guide suggested that it was built so that the church could collect tolls. Which is a credible theory

[@wessexdruid7598]

There is also a 'Chantry on the Bridge' on the medieval bridge over the Calder in Wakefield. But much more substantial than the B-o-A blind house.

[@ab-ky2rj]

6.54 I can't read the black text in the video. It's too small and if I stop the video and watch it full screen the white text "'Under the fish and over the water': Bradford-on-Avon's implausibly picturesque blind house" is on top of it. Can you move the black text away from the top of the video the next time so people can read it ?

[@PedestrianDiversions]

Noted. It says there are only a couple of angles you can film the blind house from, and I cant milk those any longer, so have some generic b-roll from the town, isnt it pretty?