Welcome to 2023 and my first blog of the year. After recovering from a nasty bout of flu, my friend Fay kindly came all the way from Shepton Mallet to take me to Corfe to practice my dowsing. When I attended my Dowsing Course with Rory Duff at Bath, he ended the day by saying “just practice”. So that is what I am doing.
It was interesting because I picked up on some energy lines that Rory had explained on his course, but there was a powerful one, coming from the Church (in the main photo) and crossing a line coming from a large hill.
They seemed to cross at a place called the Gloriette in the castle at Corfe. Gloriette comes from the french word meaning a building erected on a site that is elevated with respect to the surroundings. It was part of a domestic palace built by King John circa 1201 by masons connected with Glastonbury Abbey. Interesting the golden light in the photo where I dowsed the intersection.
We thought we would follow the line to the church and the line seemed to cross where the font is (under the tower) and outside we were curious as to why one of the carvings had a shield sideways on. Here is what I found on the internet:
The church tower is late 14th century and was built by the Beaufort family. Over the tower doorway are two carvings decorating the hood mould and a pair of shields over the arch.
The heads are thought to depict John Beaufort, eldest son of John of Gaunt, and his wife Margaret. One coat of arms lies on its side, while the other is upright. This is symbolic of the fact that John Beaufort was born out of wedlock, to Katherine Swynford, John of Gaunt’s mistress. The sideways shield shows his coat of arms before his status was legitimised by Parliament in 1397, and the upright one shows his arms after he was legitimised.
Inside the church, there are two more heads on either side of the tower arch. These are thought to depict John of Gaunt and Katherine Swynford.
Now correct me if I am wrong, but Margaret, wife of John Beaufort, gave birth to a daughter Margaret, who in turn gave birth at the age of 13, to the future King Henry VII which started the Tudor dynasty. And this is such synchronicity, because at my dowsing day in Winchester with Ron, I chatted for ages, with one of the curators at the Cathedral and we talked about the Beauforts, the Tudor dynasty and Joan of Arc (Jean D’Arc who incidentally faces Henry Beaufort’s tomb in the Cathedral). Henry Beaufort was the second son of John of Gaunt and Katherine Swynford. He was also one of the men who tried Joan of Arc.
I am still learning and if anyone can give me a link to the energy lines around Corfe, I would be really grateful. I love these dowsing days. You get to be in the fresh air, visit interesting places, learn some history and spend time with special people. Thanks Fay.
Blessings
Photos courtesy of Fay