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priory and how it harks back to people of Norman origin and then onto the famous Robert The Bruce . Unable to pick up what most of the man was saying I noticed the ‘ oracle ’ slipping into habit of dropping words as a throatier voice came from his mouth . You ’ ve got to be kidding me , he was picking up the dialect . I know he was born in these parts but come on , was he making fun of me ?
We silently walked around the grounds , the only uttered words , “ stupid prick ”, the ‘ oracle ’ had spoken . Apparently Henry VIII had something to do with this .
Some of the history was now starting to make sense . Henry had a fondness for food and the ladies , he needed to fund his excesses . The church had money , and he had a serious dislike for the church , after the Pope had told him he must remain married to his wife , some headstrong Spanish lass .
If our last stop was beautiful then the next was heavenly . Set amongst the forests that line the River Wear we came to the Finchale Priory . Another religious dwelling that King Henry took a dislike to and by that stage it already had a story of around five hundred years as Godric had
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