Priory Angel Wings Leap Off the Stones!

The re-used ancient monastery stones we've spotted in the walls of our Priory seemed to sing to us as a result of a truly remarkable 'coincidence'.

When we first chipped the old render off the walls in the old coach passageway, we found several stones which had clearly once been parts of a much larger piece of sculpture. An expert from the local historical society visited to examine them and told us that they were definitely medieval and - given the place - surely from the Cistercian monastery as local legend maintains.

He went on to say that his informed guess was that the largest and most elaborate piece of carved stone was a section of angel's wing. He was so sure of this that we gave up on the alternative possibility of fish scales, but we thought that we would never know for sure. And then one of our American knighting ceremony candidates, Brother Scotty G, turned up in his casual travelling clothes - including a remarkable T-shirt.

Scotty's T-shirt has nothing to do with the Templars. He bought it back home in the States from a local cancer charity. As you see, the back features a large pair of angel's wings. The moment we saw them, we took him to stand next to the stone. Despite it having been put into our 17th century (approximately 1620) wall at the wrong angle, the carvings on the stone are remarkably similar to the short feathers in the upper part of the wings printed on the T-shirt.

Then another realisation dawned on us, and Scotty was dragged over to another carved stone, this one built into the old wall at the other side and opposite end of the passage. This  piece of broken monastic sculpture had mystified the visiting expert, who said he was sure is was also formerly part of a religious carving, but that he couldn't tell what. But just look at the bottom part of Scotty B's "wings"!

Now, we could of course be wrong. This could be a piece of a different abbey carving entirely. Obviously also now turned in the wrong angle, it could, for instance, represent hair, or the sea under the boat bringing St. Patrick (whose original church the Norman abbey replaced) to Ireland. But, to our mind - and eyes - it looks remarkably like the bottom of the angel wing.

It's less certain than the other part of the sculpture of course, but the likeness - and the likelihood - is certainly there. What do you think?

In any case, what we do know is this: The Comber monastery was built by Cistercian monks. Their Order was founded by St. Bernard of Clairvaux, who was also the spiritual guru and high-placed advocate of the Knights Templar. And now, out of all the many hundreds of groups claiming some sort of connection with those original "Poor Knights", we are the ONLY ones with such a connection. One formed of solid stones. Stones which once echoed to the songs of men who personally knew St. Bernard.

Now, you decide also, do you believe that such things as us finding these stones, and even Scotty just happening to buy that angel shirt - and bring it 4,000 miles across the Atlantic, are 'coincidences'?  - We certainly don't! Deus Vult!