We recently did a very pleasant walk in the vicinity of Maplebeck, one of Nottinghamshire's "thankful villages". That circuit took in Winkburn, but -- as I mentioned -- we didn't find the little church there.

So today we returned to Winkburn, with several purposes.

The first was to locate the church. It rapidly became clear that we'd discouraged ourselves too soon last time, and should have read the sign all the way to the bottom:



The church, dedicated (very unusually) to St John of Jerusalem, is delightful. Largely Norman in date and style, it probably dates back to the mid-12th century (the west tower originates entirely from that period).







The dedication, we're told, stems from the circumstance that the church and the surrounding estate were owned by the Knights Hospitaller.

The what again...?

The Order of the Hospital of St John of Jerusalem is thought to have been founded around 1080 when a hospice was established in Jerusalem to look after the growing numbers of pilgrims arriving in the city: "The hospice soon developed into a hospital and in 1113 the Pope confirmed its independence. Over the next forty years it developed into a religious and military order, with its brothers and sisters (commonly known as Hospitallers of St John or Knights Hospitaller) providing care to the poor and sick of any faith. They also took on the additional role of defending all Christians and others within their care when they were threatened... From the beginning the Order grew rapidly and was given land throughout Western Europe. Its estates were managed by small groups of religious brothers and sisters who lived in communities that provided resources to the headquarters of the Order. These communities were gradually gathered into provinces called Priories or Grand Priories."

Of course, there's plenty in all this -- the military role, the riches, the connection with the crusades... -- that raises questions that I am ill-equipped to answer.

What is clear is that the Order was suppressed in England by King Henry VIII in 1540, and elsewhere also went through a period of disarray. In the mid-19th century, however, it experienced a bit of a renaissance, and set up the institution it's currently perhaps best known for: the St John Ambulance Association.

Back in the 13th century, we know that the Hospitallers "held the manors of Deyvilthorpe (Danethorpe), Winkburn, Ossington, and 4s. rent in Willoughby", and early in the 14th century, the "camera" (small estate) of Winkburn laid claim, inter alia, to "a manse with garden and dovecote, valued at 16s. 8d.; arable land worth £15, and meadow and pasture, 76s.; underwood (beyond that used in the house), 28s.; [and] a windmill, 20s... The appropriated church of Winkburn, with the chapel of Maplebeck [which had originally belonged to the Knights Templar], was of the yearly value of 25½ marks; common pasture for twenty cows produced 40s., and the same for 500 sheep 41s. The total receipts and profits of the camera realized 93 marks 8s. 5d..."

It sounds like a place that was dripping with milk and honey... Maybe even beer...

That thought takes me to Nigel's online investigations into church access, which also made him aware of Beermats, a tiny, village-based brewery with an enticing range of beers, and a click-and-collect option.


So now our journey had a second purpose: picking up a mixed box of Beermats beer.


Over and above our church exploration and beer-buying, however, the primary objective of this second Winkburn expedition was to celebrate the solstice.

Nowhere in Nottinghamshire is particularly high, but on our previous walk, we'd gone by a nice little elevated area, with a place to park and a view out towards the setting sun, and we'd decided that it would be the ideal spot for marking the sun's lowest point this year.

So we shared a little flask of hot coffee and a couple of the excellent croissants that you can get on Newark market, we watched the sun disappear into a cloud bank, and we waited for the crucial hour:


The sun rose at 08.14 this morning, and set at 15.47 (hitting its yearly nadir just a few minutes later). So today's grand total of daylight was 7 hours and 33 minutes.

But never fear, because we're now heading back into the LIGHT!