Blessing The Waters

There used to be a huge Abbey in Chertsey (until Henry VIII dissolved it in 1537 and then dismantled it to make his own palace in nearby Weybridge – so a bit before my time), and although there is very little left, that doesn’t stop monks from The Saint Edward Brotherhood coming to Chertsey every year for the Great Blessing Of Waters.

I was lucky enough to be there this year so managed to take some reportage photos of the event, and then also arranged to visit their fantastic looking monastery in Brookwood, Surrey to take some interior photographs of the building itself.

The Great Blessing takes place every year on the Epiphany, January 19th, just 12 days after Christmas Day which, as we all know, is on January 7th. What do you mean no it isn’t? Of course it is – if you use the Julian calendar which is what the Brotherhood do being followers of the orthodox church. The Julian calendar is currently 13 days behind the Gregorian calendar which most of the western world follow, but it gains a day every 128 years. And if that’s not confusing enough they also celebrate the new year on September 1st!

Anyway back to the Great Blessing. The River Abbey delivered water to the monastery for drinking, washing, cleaning and power, and it may have even been diverted there by the monks from the River Thames, which runs nearby. In 875 AD Vikings sailed up this river and slew the Abbot (known as St Beocca of Chertsey) and around 90 monks including the priest, St Ethor of Chertsey. So Chertsey has two saints and it is this connection that brings the Brotherhood here every year.

There are always several monks present and the service involves lots of praying, chanting and the spreading of incense (which the monks make themselves) along the river, where the congregation gathers for the duration of the blessing.

I managed to pitch myself on the other side of the river so that I could photograph all the action – it was actually a very muddy horse field and taking pictures was a bit challenging as there were lots of branches hanging down from a willow tree, as well as a wall of stinging nettles along the river edge on my side! I also needed to climb a fence with my camera gear to get in and out of the field – such is the glamour of life as a location photographer.

The blessing itself is marked by the throwing of a cross into the river. Traditionally a young monk would dive into the river to retrieve it and return it to the shore. On this occasion the cross was attached to a cord and pulled back out of the river. This occurred 3 times and I’m not sure if that has always been the case and so if the young monk would have to go back in to get it!

I managed to get this shot just as the cross hit the water. To be fair he actually threw it in 3 times, but I did manage to catch it every time without using the motor drive on my camera (feels quite smug).

The congregation and the onlookers (and their dogs) are then blessed and splashed with holy water, before everyone is served drinks and food in a local barn said to have been part of the monastery. There is a wooden oak beam in the barn that has been carbon dated and shown to be from around the time of Christ’s birth, 2000 years ago.

The blessing at Chertsey is usually preceded by a service at their church in Brookwood (on the site of the cemetery which used to be connected to London via a train line that ran from Waterloo to the cemetery’s own station carrying the dead and their relatives), and I managed to visit it a few weeks after the Great Blessing.

There are no seats in the church and everyone has to stand (there are pews along the walls for the elderly and infirm, and are said to be the basis of the expression “going to the wall”).

Apparently during the services the clergy give their sermons from behind this wall throughout:

There is usually a curtain drawn across these wooden doors, but occasionally the curtains are pulled back (as in this photo) for certain parts of some services and the congregation addressed by the priest.

The church walls are adorned with icons – paintings of religious figures and spiritual events, and the congregation often bring icons to the Great Blessing Of Waters in Chertsey.

Although the Brookwood monastery is a fabulous looking building, a recent computer simulation released by Chertsey Museum shows how impressive Chertsey Abbey would have looked all those years ago.

Some of the fish ponds seen in this simulation are still present today, and although they are not normally filled with water this photo was taken during the flooding of 2014, when the ponds filled up again:

Although there is a lot of history associated with Chertsey Abbey, there is a new breed of younger people interested in it for very different reasons. The Chertsey Abbey ruins are included as part of the video game Assassin’s Creed Valhalla, where gamers have to find a book of knowledge amongst the ruins of the abbey!

Who knew Chertsey had so much history – both real and fictional?

:DK