Pyx Parade

(Note; It isn’t possible to cram all of the sites comfortably on to this one route but the raised walkway known as Pyx Parade which starts in front of the old Wesleyan Chapel is worth mentioning (and viewing).

At the bottom of Pyx Parade on the right are the remains of what were once substantial walls that now form garden boundaries. These old walls are considered to be all that remains of the town walls that once enclosed at least the Castleton area.

The area across the road on the left is still known as North Gate which suggests where the entrance on this side of the town would have been.

The area across the road on the left is still known as North Gate which suggests where the entrance on this side of the town would have been. The Pyx was, and still is in some churches, a small vessel into which a piece of the Eucharist is taken from the Ciborium and then used to carry the Sacrament to those too ill or perhaps too frail to get to a church service. This as a tradition was, and still is in some Catholic countries, conducted on various Feast Days through the year one of which was Good Friday. This was especially the case in The Middle Ages when the object was to show the Pyx, with its Sacrament inside, to the public. A procession was usually the norm with all of the Guilds of the town marching proudly as part of the entourage and displaying their Guild banners.

The popularity of this is thought to have been the origin of what was to become the carnival.

The ‘Parade’ of the Pyx seems, from the name, to have come along at least this raised walkway and may have been part of the Medieval route around the walls of the town, into and out of, the oldest and main church of St Martin’s during the early life of the town.

If you chose to come along this route you can still join up with the main trail by turning right into Kiln Road at the bottom. It will take you into Swan Square. If you haven’t gone down Pyx Parade,....

Go up Church Street; on your left is...

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