St Helen's Church is the Anglican parish church of Ashby-de-la-Zouch, in the deanery of North West Leicestershire and the Diocese of Leicester. A previous church on the site was rebuilt beginning in 1474 by William Hastings, while he was converting his neighbouring manor house into a castle. The church was refurbished in about 1670 and again in 1829 to create more space, and a major rebuild in 1878–80 added two outer aisles, making the nave wider than it is long. The sandstone church has a tower at the west end. Other fixtures include ancient stained glass at the east end, some important funereal monuments, and a font, pulpit and carved heads by Thomas Earp. The finger pillory is a rare item, once seen as a humane form of punishment. The church has a long association with the Hastings family, its patrons for four centuries, and became a centre for Puritanism under Henry Hastings, 3rd Earl of Huntingdon. The church's architecture has earned it a Grade I listing, denoting a building of "exceptional interest".

Read more: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St_Helen%27s_Church,_Ashby-de-la-Zouch

_______________________________ Today's selected anniversaries:

960:

Arab–Byzantine wars: Having been the target of many raids by the Emirate of Aleppo, Byzantine forces led by Leo Phokas the Younger ambushed the Hamdanids and annihilated their army. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Andrassos

1644:

The Shunzhi Emperor, the third emperor of the Qing dynasty, was enthroned in Beijing after the collapse of the Ming dynasty as the first Qing emperor to rule over China. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shunzhi_Emperor

1939:

Johann Georg Elser unsuccessfully attempted to assassinate Adolf Hitler with a time bomb, but killed eight people and injured more than sixty-two others. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Johann_Georg_Elser

1972:

HBO, the oldest and longest continuously operating pay television service in the United States, began broadcasting to 325 subscribers. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HBO

1987:

A Provisional Irish Republican Army bomb exploded during a Remembrance Sunday ceremony in Enniskillen, Northern Ireland, killing twelve people and injuring sixty-three others. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Remembrance_Day_bombing

_____________________________ Wiktionary's word of the day:

Montezuma's revenge: (humorous) Diarrhea experienced by tourists after drinking water or eating food in Mexico as a result of a bacteria strain to which native Mexicans are immune. https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/Montezuma%27s_revenge

___________________________ Wikiquote quote of the day:

The fulness of joy is to behold God in all: for by the same blessed Might, Wisdom, and Love, that He made all-thing, to the same end our good Lord leadeth it continually, and thereto Himself shall bring it; and when it is time we shall see it.   --Julian of Norwich https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Julian_of_Norwich