Historic ‘Gateway to God’ Re-opened

The Duchy of Lancaster was pleased to support the reopening of a historic gateway leading to the 15^th century Bede House in the grounds of St Mary’s Church in Higham Ferrers earlier this summer. The restored access will improve the pedestrian links between The Bede House and St Mary’s churchyard to Midland Road in the heart of the town.

When the town’s Bedeswoman, Marion Knott, officially cut the ribbon and declared the new gate open, it was the culmination of a three-year project by The Friends of St Mary’s, a registered charity dedicated to the preservation of the Grade I listed buildings in the town. The project, which also included replacing the ironstone on the archway curve above the gate, was made possible by funding from Nenescape and the John Warren Trust as well as the Duchy of Lancaster Benevolent Fund.

The new gateway was completed to mark the 600^th anniversary of Higham Ferrers’s most famous son, Archbishop of Canterbury Henry Chichele, who founded both The Bede House and the Chantry College which still bears his name. The Bede House was originally a medieval ‘hospital’ or almshouse, capable of accommodating a dozen needy men and a Bedeswoman who would cook and clean for them. Each resident had a cubicle and locker within the main hall and the building followed the traditional medieval plan of an infirmary hall with a chapel at the eastern end. Today, the building is used mainly for community events and local Bedesmen and Bedeswomen continue the tradition of the order by donning traditional cloaks whenever they attend civic ceremonies.

The Reverend Paul Needle, part of the church’s ministry team, blessed the gate and all who pass through it at the official opening event. He dedicated the entranceway to God and to our late Sovereign Queen Elizabeth II who had, in his words, ‘finished her job…and gone through the gate.’

The Duchy of Lancaster Benevolent Fund exists to support community projects and good causes on and around its historic estates. It has previously awarded funds and land to support the creation of an award-winning community garden to the rear of Chichele College.

Higham Ferrers is one of the oldest estates in the Duchy’s rural portfolio, having formed part of the gift of lands from Henry III to his son Edmund Crouchback in 1265.