Summer is here for Priory 900!

Priory 900 is in high spirits for the summer after a busy month of special events, and we are now looking forward to the Old Town Summer Festival.

This month’s craft workshops proved very popular, with places being sold out before the day. On Saturday 1st June, Medieval Jewellery Workshop tutor Jacqueline Warrington worked with small groups to design and make medieval-inspired jewellery. Meanwhile Dr Jon Kenny, community archaeologist for the York Archaeological Trust, led a Geophysical Survey Workshop in the Priory grounds on Saturday 15th June. Jon and his students conducted a survey in the grounds surrounding the current Priory Church in order to find out more about the original layout and structure of the Priory’s monastic buildings. We hope to share the results of the survey once these are available!

On Saturday 8th May, Music Matters Courses Ltd conductor Gareth Green and accompanist Ian Pattinson led a ‘come and sing’ day workshop attended by more than fifty keen choral singers. Participants rehearsed extracts from Part I of Haydn’s famous oratorio, ‘The Creation’, and performed them in the Priory in the evening. Solo parts were performed by Alexandra Webster, Ravi Popoff and Che Seabourne. The evening concert also included an organ solo by Carillon de Westminster and Louis Vierne and live music by the Jenny Bray Ensemble.

Finally, we were delighted to welcome the talented, prizewinning Benyounes Quartet to the Priory on Saturday 15th June for a very special chamber concert which included pieces by Schubert, Beethoven and Dvorak. Although the weather wasn’t promising, the band enjoyed their visit to Bridlington for some fish and chips!

Upcoming Events

Saturday 22nd June, 12 - 4pm Medieval Summer Fayre Come and enjoy the fun of the Fayre — in costume if you can! Every year Bridlington Priory holds its Summer Fayre on the Church Green, and this year it’s going ‘medieval’. As well as the regular stalls and competitions, this year there will be plenty of medieval feasting and entertainment – stalls of food to try and buy, competitions and games, and amusements for the whole family. Saturday 22nd June, 7:30pm The York Waits The York Waits take their name from the ancient city band of York and have revived the band as it was in its heyday in the 16th century, playing a wide repetoire of period European music and their own arrangements of popular dance and ballads. Like their predecessors, they play upon a noyse of shawms, ancestors of the oboe-bassoon family, and other instruments characteristic of waits before 1600. Look out for some of the Waits in costume at the medieval-themed Summer Fayre earlier in the day.

Saturday 29th June, 10am - 4pm Poetry Workshop Write your own poetry inspired by Bridlington Priory and its varied and long life. All you need is enthusiasm and an open mind! The Priory has inspired works including Albert Ketelbey’s’ In a Monastery Garden’, a famous song of yesteryear. The workshop will be led by experienced poet Pat Borthwick. All Priory 900 craft workshops are supported by the National Lottery through the Heritage Lottery Fund. Sunday 30th June, 6:30pm Priory 900 ‘Songs of Praise’ Join us for a special service which will include favourite hymns, songs and readings. This will be an evening of praise and celebration for everyone who enjoys singing and listening to good and joyful music! Please send us your requests for hymns and readings, and/or interesting stories. Let us know what your choice means to you and the part it has played in your faith journey, especially if the Priory has played an important part in it.

Bridlington Old Town Summer Festival
The annual festival takes on a special Priory 900 flavour for 2013.

This year the popular Old Town Summer Festival is brought to you jointly by Priory 900 and the Old Town Association. Programmes and tickets are now available and can be obtained from the Old Town Gallery and the Georgian Rooms on the Old Town’s High Street. Additionally, tickets for concerts can be purchased in the Bridlington Priory shop or on the door.

Secret Gardens (Bridlington Old Town, June 29th & 30th, 11am - 4pm)
Tickets £3.50 (Free for Under 16s)
Satisfy your curiosity and enjoy the unique experience of visiting fascinating gardens that lie hidden behind the historic facades of the Old Town. You will also find artists at work in some of the gardens, and there will be other pleasures – cream teas, plant and produce sales. Collect the clues in each garden for a chance to win a £25 Eastfield voucher!

Gilbert and Sullivan’s ‘The Gondoliers’ (Bridlington Priory Church, July 2nd, 7:30pm)
Free Admission or £3 to sing
A ‘scratch’ performance from the talented team linked to Bridlington’s close harmony singing quartet, ‘Versatility’. All the solo parts are played by experts – in costume! You are cordially invited to join the chorus, if that’s your thing, or just to come along and enjoy the spirited performance. Admission is free, and there will be a collection in aid of the Hinge Centre and the Kingfisher Trust. The event is supported by the Bridlington Choral Society and Barclays Bank.

Flower Festival (Bridlington Priory, July 4th – 7th, 10am – 4pm)
Free Admission (Programme £1)
‘Praise the Lord’. This will be a very special treat – the Priory church filled with superb arrangements on the theme of praise and celebration, drawing on words and phrases from the Psalms. If you would like to provide or pay for flowers for one of the arrangements, please let us know and we’ll put you in touch with the organisers.

Festival Feast (The Marquee, Church Green, July 5th, 7:00pm)
Tickets £15
This will be an evening to remember – for all the right reasons! There’ll be good food and drink (including plenty of Priory 900 beer), cheerful music, dancing and fun, all with a historic flavour. Come and enjoy a really good night out!

EYMS Brass Band (Bridlington Priory Church, July 6th, 7.30pm)
Tickets £7.50
An annual favourite – the summer concert by this superb, prizewinning band.

Old Town Day (High Street/Church Green, July 7th, 11am - 4pm)
Free Admission
Bridlington Old Town en fete! Market stalls on the Church Green offering high quality food, crafts and gifts, plus ‘village show’ fun including displays of produce, flowers and handicrafts, dog show, greyhound parade and much more.

Town Criers Competition (Market Place/Church Green, July 7th, 11am - 4pm)
Free Admission
A significant ‘first’ for Bridlington, and certainly something to shout about! Prize winning Town Criers from all over the country, including members of the Loyal Company Of Town Criers and The Ancient and Honourable Guild of Town Criers along with their costumed escorts, will be joining our own prize-winning Bridlington Town Crier, David Hinde, in a blaze of colour, heritage and pageantry for this important Town Criers competition. The special theme for the day will – of course – be Priory 900!