VMs: More on Abbot Beere...

[Nick Pelling <incoming@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Hi everyone,

I've opened correspondence with Jack Romano about Abbot Beere - both of 
them very interesting characters! :-)

I asked Jack for any insight into Abbot Beere and his grave, and Beere's 
trip to Italy. He replied:-

        For a while I thought Beere may have been buried by the Lady Chapel
        he loved so much... I  went to Ancona, Italy  and saw the real 
one; its
        fabulous, two huge copper doors open into a modest church, but its
        been embellished beyond belief by the leading artists of each
        subsequent generation. Amazing.  A lot of people think Beere saw
        this church when he went on a Papal mission sent by Henry 8th...
        He was most probably given a brief to spy and check out the general
        feelings towards him divorcing his Missus... Beere was a politcian
        nonpareil, as well as a prelate!  Ancona is an unusual place to land
        if visiting Vatican; but in those days it was a much more important
        port and trade centre than it is now. The original Marian Chapel is
        about 15 miles away, and it was famous even then, regarded as
        the true 'Barn' and byre that Jesus was born in, transported by
        Angels to Ancona when it was threatened by Moors. You have
        to suspend belief a little here!

        Beere was on his way to Rome when he was attacked by brigands.
        He fell off his horse (he was very fat) and rolled towards a deep
        gorge. He would have fallen in and died but he prayed fervently
        to the Virgin, promising that if his life was saved he would build
        a replica of the Ancona chapel at Glastonbury. His cape was
        caught on a thorn and he was rescued... He took personal
        measurements of the Lady Chapel, and also - importantly made
        notes ref. the decoration. This is a puzzle to us all because the
        decoration involved a life sized statue of the Virgin, centred in a
        zodiac with various markings and pointers. This was 'THE secret'
        that [F.Bligh] Bond worked so hard to unravel; the one that could
        save mankind and christianity in a coming time of strife.   But by
        now the Secret had been forgotten - when Beere copied it all, he
        was copying mechanically, with no idea of the true meaning.
        The original has been modified and changed beyond recognition,
        so no clues there either....

        There isn't much on Beere, because he wasn't really controversial;
        all the real action took place after he died. He was the last of the
        truly great builders though.  You need to look at Bligh Bond - there
        is a biography of Bond by William Kennaway, which is good  and
        dwells on Beere a little and also 'The Gate of Remembrance'
        where Beere speaks up several times, otherwise it's British Library
        and the usual manuscripts. There is a Joke sketch of Beere done
        by a contemporary stonemason. He carved what looks like a dog
        from the side, but face-on its Beere in his mitre - very clever bit of
        gargoyle art. Beere signed himself with a Rebus (little vignette
        that summarises your name) In his case it was a barrel...

        The Zodiac in the chapel was deliberately skewed, and didn't
        technically point the right way. The secret was encrypted in the
        design and also in the measurements of the Abbey. It was based
        on what's sometimes called the 'Sacred Geometry'. Take two
        circles like when you were a kid and did a Venn diagram, and
        push them together till they interlock, perfectly,each one losing
        half to the other. In the middle you'll have formed a perfect
        ellipse. Encase this ellipse in a rectangle, and you have a shape
        like a football pitch - well this measurement is always constant
        and can't be fiddled with; it's perfect, and many churches in
        mediaeval times were built around these measurements.

        It didn't make any real sense why Beere went to Ancona - was
        there an ulterior motive? He may well be your man!

So, if you wanted to connect the VMS with external conspiracies, then 
here's a possible link with Marian cults, hidden zodiacs, sacred geometry, 
automatic writing, Tudor international politics, and the lost secret of 
Glastonbury Abbey. Oh, and the Watchers, the Holy Grail, Joseph of 
Arimathea, and the entire space-time continuum. Take your pick! :-)

More as it happens! =:-o

Cheers, .....Nick Pelling..... 


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