We're on the Norfolk Broads; overnight we moored near the ruins of St Benet's Abbey, which, in strictly legal terms, survived the dissolution of the monasteries under King Henry VIII in 1538-39. It did so by surrendering land to the King, in return for which he merged the monastery into the Bishopric of Norwich. As a result, Abbey life dwindled pretty quickly into oblivion, as all resources were surrendered to the direction of the Bishop. The buildings fell into disuse by the late 16th century, and the building materials used liberally to repair or build other structures in the local diocese. The gatehouse arch survives, and was used in the 19th century as a structural support for a windpump, which is the slightly strange looking structure you see in the right foreground.
We woke to a glorious September dawn, and decided to walk up from the moored boat to the Abbey ruins for a period of quiet reflection. This was my view. It was wonderful.
Katharine