The singing Vicar of Bray

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At secondary school, and I expect also at primary school, the song books were passed around and we all joined in a jolly good sing-song.

Cherry Ripe, Bobby Shafto, My Darling Clementine and somewhere in there would be:-

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In those days I lived a hundred miles from Bray and had no idea where it was, or what this Vicar had been up to.

Now I live only a matter of miles away, and have been through many times by road and river.

The famous Singing Vicar of Bray had a well-known ballad written about him in which he promised to remain the Vicar of Bray, Sir, no matter what religious denomination he had to adopt.

Living under King Henry VIII, King Edward VI, Queen Mary, and Queen Elizabeth, he was first a Papist, then a Protestant, then a Papist, then a Protestant again. He had seen some martyrs burnt (two miles off) at Windsor, and found this fire too hot for his tender temper.

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Old Bray from a painting by A.R.Quinton.

This vicar, being taxed by one for being a turncoat and an inconstant changeling, said,

"Not so, for I always kept my principle, which is this - to live and die the Vicar of Bray".

"And this is law I will maintain

Until my dying day, sir,

That whatsoever King shall reign,

I'll be Vicar of Bray, sir."

Todays Bray, is still fairly attractive, spoilt like most small villages by an increase in traffic.

The most prominent object in the village from the river is the fine old church, close to which stands the vicarage, with trim gardens, and smooth shaven lawns running down to the river. A profusion of fine trees adds to the beauty of the view, and the place is very happily situated at a beautiful bend of the river.

(Here I was going to paste one of my pen & ink drawings - but, do you think I could find it? - Never mind. Another day).

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A very expensive place to live. If I remember correctly, the pubs there only served beer in half pint glasses and made you feel out of place if you turned up without a tie! I can remember the days when Princess Margaret used to frequent the 'posh restaurants' here. They are still there with their rows of Gold Stars outside.

Here's a snippet about The Waterside Inn. Bray.

It was taken from a review in the ‘Torygraph’ :-

“As my wife’s eyebrows descended, so did her jaw. “Good grief,” she murmured. “Oh my.” The set lunch is £69.50 with two glasses of house wine lobbed in, but with the à la carte you’d certainly want something stronger than a harmless rosé from Provence. A poached egg starter is £37, a crème brûlée £29.

However, with its fine floral prints nestling between mirrors, gorgeous flowers, gentle, elegant red carpet and doors opened on to the river and weeping willows beyond, this is a very handsome and gratifyingly unstuffy place in which to eat in summer.

The cheese trolley is spectacular, and the selection of Auvergne cheeses flawlessly kept (a pity, as my mother would say, at £26.50). My “dark equatorial chocolate dessert” with vanilla ice cream was also good, as were the petits fours served with coffee (shame again at £12 a cup). “

“I punched in my PIN without checking the bill, but I’ve now glanced, and despite the set lunch and abstemious boozing, it came to £115 per head.”

The Waterside Inn, Ferry Road, Bray, Berkshire; (waterside-inn.co.uk).

Lunch for two: £230 and....... they only awarded it 6 out of ten!

As you missed out on my pen & ink,

here's a much better picture by Alexander Ansted.

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Shadows of departing day at Bray.

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