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Grace Family at Battle Abbey

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                                    The Gates of Battle Abbey, Aunt Glad at the Wheel  c. 1906

 We also enjoyed more modern amusements. Everv Wednesday we could trail after the tourists who came to see the ruins of the original Abbey, which was the chief attraction for sightseers. The roof was gone, but the walls outlined the plan of the long refectory, the cloisters, and the cells. Purple-toad ivy grew between the stones, and the close-cut grass dotted with tiny daisies made an emerald carpet. Nearby stood a small but elaborate stone and blue- enamel monument that marked the spot where King Harold fell in 1066, pierced through the heart by a Norman arrow. For two shillings, tourists were allowed into the great hall of the Abbey, an enormous two-storied baronial hall complete with banners, knights' armor, and a priest-hole hidden in the upper gallery. They also enjoyed peering in the windows of the drawing room to see the vaulted blue ceiling painted with silver stars and to watch Grandmoods and her friends having tea.