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[mariamairarose]

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[ancestryadventures]

Christian Roots: Tadcaster (Yorkshire) and an interview with Christopher Noble

From Gateshead, I continued southward, and as the evening drew in I arrived at my destination, Tadcaster, North Yorkshire.

St Mary’s Church, Tadcaster, Yorkshire. Jan 2017.

Tadcaster

Tadcaster on Map of UK

It is probably most famous for the brewing history, John Smith’s being one of the largest in the country. This brewery also boasts the brewing of other well-known brands such as Newcastle Brown Ale, Kronenburg 1664, Heineken, Amstel and Tiger. Not bad for a town that only has 6,000 inhabitants!

John Smith’s Brewery, Tadcaster, Yorkshire. Jan 2017.

But I wasn’t in Tadcaster to try the local beverages (although I did!), I was here because it was the home of the most spiritual ancestor I know, my maternal great-grandfather, Robert J Hall.

Robert Jeffrey Hall

Born in 1891, I do not yet know much about his early life, other than he fought in the first world war, but never spoke about it. He married my great-grandmother Dorothy at 32 years of age, and gave birth to my grandmother Margaret Green a year later.

Dorothy Parker, Margaret Hall (later Green), Robert Hall. c1933

As you can tell by the dog-collar, he was a spiritual man, and was sent a letter by the Arch-Bishop of York (which we still have to this day) to become the vicar at St Mary’s Church in Tadcaster - as long as he didn’t make it “too high church”! This is what I came to find, and I arrived just before nightfall.

St Mary’s Church, Tadcaster, Yorkshire. Jan 2017.

The church itself was built in 15th century, the oldest in the town. Robert gave service there for many years, and lived in a large vicarage where my mum and her brothers used to go on school holidays.

Photo of the Old Vicarage, Tadcaster, Yorkshire.

It took some exploring and a little help from my uncle guidance, but eventually, under the cover of darkness, I found the vicarage. I was welcomed in by the current owner who allowed me to look in. The building has 9 bedrooms, with have since been converted into 3 separate properties - it was a large place for a vicar, his wife and only infrequent visitors to live!

The giant double door at the front has been the same for over 50 years!

Old Vicarage, Tadcaster, Yorkshire. Jan 2017.

It felt like a real achievement to find this location, somewhere that my great-grandfather had lived for many years. Due to his commitment to the church, he is the most devout spiritual man I have uncovered in my family tree. 


His Christian beliefs filtered down to my grandmother, who went to church into her final years. The odd service I went to with my grandmother exposed me to some of this faith, but its slow and somber approach and lecture style arrangement has never nourished me in a spiritual way.


So is it worth me exploring Christianity as my spiritual home?


Christian Migration vs my Ancestral Heritage


Christianity arrived in Britain on the tongue of traders as it migrated through the Roman empire from the middle east. It sat amongst a whole host of Pagan and Roman gods at the time, however it differed as it required followers to abandon all non-Christian religious beliefs.


Emporer Constantine realised that this belief system would do well to unite the Roman Empire and so it was permitted as of 313 AD. But upon the invasion of Angles and Saxons, pagan religions took dominance in Britain again. It wasn’t until 597 AD, when Augustine’s mission reached England, did Christianity become one of the dominant faiths in Britain.

Map of my Ancestry.com DNA estimate

But on returning my Ancestry DNA test, it shows that only about 5% of my DNA comes from Italy, Eastern Europe and the Middle East. My ancestral roots will likely have followed Nordic, Celtic and Germanic pagan religions for much longer, and perhaps only associated with Christianity for the past 1,000 years or so.


Interview with Christopher Noble

Nevertheless, I am still interested in the story of Jesus. Long before it became a means to rule empires and wage violent crusades, there likely was a man in the middle east who was preaching and practicing spiritual truths, I just needed to find out more about him.


I am currently at Schumacher College; a place of pioneering thinkers studying ecology, spirituality, economics and holistic science - a great chance to meet people and get new perspectives. One such man who I spoke to was Christopher Noble, who has been researching the story of Jesus extensively. Consequently I invited him to participate in my second Ancestry Adventures interview.

CLICK HERE TO LISTEN TO THE PODCAST

Christopher Noble. Jan 2017

I resonate with the idea of Jesus as a man who still has wisdom and guidance, and that the telling of his story (without the institutionalised historical baggage) can be of inspiration to me; as someone who is always on the look-out for positive male role models for myself.


I also see how mythology plays a large part in the work I have done. My work with the Mankind Project and Journeyman UK both use the story of Iron John, while (as I mentioned), A Band of Brothers use the Parsifal myth.

I was so inspired by the use of myth, that within my FDa in Creative Arts Therapies, I wrote a story using Joseph Campbell’s Hero’s Journey as part of my Drama and Storytelling module.

How the Prince Found his Voice. Written and performed by Joss Holmes

Reflections

This step on the journey has brought up some conflict; I at once note that my most spiritual ancestor was a Vicar and the story of Jesus appears inspiring to me, while I still resist the institution it upholds. There is more for me to learn about Christianity, but it doesn’t have the same ‘pull’ to me that pagan traditions do.

Christopher retells Rupert Sheldrake’s philosophy of following the Anglican church; “it’s my cultural language for explaining the great mystery.” This does speak to me, and so I intend to continue to delve into what other cultures my ancestry have been a part of - both in a cognitive and an intuitive way...

[terencemckenna]

I am convinced that if there were no shamanic pipeline, there would be no higher life, as we know it, on this planet. … We are all cells of a much larger body, and like the cells of our own body it is hard for us to glimpse the whole pattern of the whole of what is happening, and yet we can sense that there is a purpose, and there is a pattern...

Audio lecture, "History Ends In Green" (Pt. 11 Pt. 12)