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| The house in the centre lies on the site of Purgatory |
Purgatory is just one of those "snippets". Last week I bumped into an elderly lady. She had been off for a "walk" in her electric wheelchair and when I asked her where she had been she succinctly said "To purgatory and back"
I did a little digging.
After reviewing old 1950 maps of the village I located a small holding on the outskirts of the village with the rather odd name of Purgatory. Not purgatory farm or purgatory house...but just plain PURGATORY. Today it has been rebuilt into a plush new house called Cae Glas (Green Field or Blue field)
It intrigues me just why anyone would name a house with such a negative tag?. Ok there are several "bleak Houses" in the world, we all know that, but why on earth would anyone call their home, which is always deemed a place of safety and of warmth , such a punishing name......?
Answers on a postcard please?
The man who built the house clearly gave it that name because he had to live there with his wife. She modelled clothes for Freeman Hardy and Willis - mostly the pinafore, corset and chastity belt sections.
ReplyDeleteAnd odd that it is an english name too
ReplyDeleteThey clearley wanted to be living on a cruise ship ( which would be my idea of purgatory )
ReplyDeleteThe early Methodist church believed there was an intermediate state between death and judgment and in the possibility of "continuing to grow in holiness there", could have been an early Methodist minister's home ?
ReplyDeleteOr was a staunch Puritan ?
Curiouser and curiouser.
~Jo
Purgatory is the place where people who died in a state of grace are prepared for their entry to Heaven. Nothing so bad about that.
ReplyDeleteTimes like this I miss John Peel's "Home truths".
ReplyDeleteThere is a pub just north of Tetbury called 'Trouble House'.
ReplyDeleteAfter a lot of research, I discovered that the first and second owner hanged themselves before completion of the building, through lack of funds.
As a Catholic, I too was taught that Purgatory was a time of atonement. A place where you and God sifted through your past life and He then decided what future benefits yu would recieve in Heaven. Everyone who goes to purgatory eventully goes to Heaven. Some (like me) just have to wait a wee bit longer than others.
ReplyDeleteLove the history. Keep up the hard work John
Interesting how places end up with these names, isn't it? Newfoundland is full of them, my personal favourite being "Dildo."
ReplyDeletehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dildo,_Newfoundland_and_Labrador
Someone I used to work with always said when he was going on holiday with his wife that they were going to spend two weeks at Loggerheads!
ReplyDeleteEvery time an old person dies, a library burns.
ReplyDeleteSad but true.
Colorado has a town named Purgatory. It's a popular ski area here.
ReplyDeleteI once visited a place in Grand Cayman called 'Hell'.
ReplyDeleteAre there any Primative Methodists around your area? That might explain it.
cro
ReplyDeletethere are methodists and a mormon congregation that was located somewhere in the village ( most of the mormons left for american in the 19th sentury
bel
you live and learn!
I am learning a lot here - this is why I love Blogging !
ReplyDeleteMaybe the residents of the house thought they were in a marriage half-way between heaven and hell.
ReplyDeleteIt is perhaps a grim designation, but quite an honest, if literal one, to give your abode the name 'Purgatory'. No-one would want to brand their home with the name 'Hell', and surely it's coy to call your home 'Heaven'. I think I prefer it to 'Bleak House'.
ReplyDeleteI think it would be difficult to remain optimistic living there.
ReplyDeleteLooks like a nice enough place. If that's Purgatory, I wouldn't mind being in it.
ReplyDeletem.
What YP said.
ReplyDeleteI'm really curious about this name. Hope you find the answer.
Heehee. Love Purgatory.
ReplyDeleteMy friend Linda was brought up at Cae Glas in the 1950s and its name had already been changed from Purgatory by then. Another friend Michelle lives there at the moment and it is a lovely house, more like paradise than purgatory; my other half Peter keeps the garden neat and tidy for her! A local book I have called "Walking with History" says that "there is no definitive explanation as to why the house may have been called Purgatory, but it is thought that it is connected with stories that long ago the lane on which it stands was a pilgrim route".
ReplyDeleteI learn something new every day, I always thought Purgatory was a place between Heaven and Hell and I figured I lived there.
ReplyDeleteInteresting post, John
val...
ReplyDeletethanks for the information...my map must be older than I thought!
I too thhought that purgatory was more a negative word but bel tells us that it isnt
And here I thought I'd never be interested in spending time in purgatory. Guess I was wrong. : )
ReplyDeleteIt was named Purgatory because it was in the middle. The original holding to the east used to be named Kingdom Come while the one just to the west was known as Lower Still. The couple who lived in Purgatory tried out Limbo Landing, Perdition Place, and Left Field first but none of those ever felt quite right.
ReplyDelete:-)