This England

For all who
love our green
and pleasant land
WINTER 2017
Quarterly
£5.25

The Historic Homes of England
Berkeley Castle, Berkeley, Gloucestershire
The castle dates back to the early Norman period and in 1327 was the scene of the alleged gruesome murder of
King Edward II. The first building, a motte and bailey, was erected in 1067 and the edifice initially passed
to Robert Fitzharding, an early member of the Berkeley family who were later given permission to rebuild and
extend the site with the aim of defending the Bristol to Gloucester road (now the A38), as well as the estuary of the
River Severn which at the time was an important trading route.
In 1326 it was ransacked by the forces of Hugh Despenser, a favourite of Edward II, but the hapless king was later
imprisoned before his subsequent murder and his cell is still on display to visitors. Ironically, in the same century the
great hall was given a magnificent new roof.
During the Civil War the castle was captured by the Parliamentarians but the Berkeley family was allowed to stay
throughout hostilities. They are still resident today in what is the third oldest continuously occupied castle,
only the royal fortresses of the Tower of London and Windsor Castle pre-dating it.
JOHN BLAKE
A member of the Historic Houses Association, Berkeley Castle is open every day from Sunday to Wednesday during
April to October, and further information can be obtained by ringing 01254 810303 or
by emailing info@berkeley-castle.com .

Winter 2017
. . . is a quarterly journal published in
Spring, Summer, Autumn and Winter,
for all who love our green and pleasant land.
Annual subscription rates:
(4 quarterly editions, inc. postage and packing):
U.K. addresses £21; Overseas addresses £29
(by Airmail) Personal dollar cheques accepted from
USA at $39.44 per subscription; Canada $51.91;
Australia $51.62; New Zealand $54.81.
Next four UK Publication Dates (approx):
Spring 2018: 7th Feb.; Summer 2018: 9th May;
Autumn 2018: 8th Aug.; Winter 2018: 7th Nov.
Editor: Stephen Garnett
Deputy Editor: Angeline Wilcox
Assistant Editors: Susan Kelleher,
Peter Worsley
Media: Edmund Whitehouse
Production: Ann Augur, Keren Bowers
Music Editor: Percy Bickerdyke
Recording Engineer: Eric Holmes
Advertising: Bryn Piper
Editorial Secretaries: Christine Freeman
Angie Mulcahy
Head of Publishing: Maria Welch
SALES/SUBSCRIPTIONS:
This England, PO Box 814,
Haywards Heath, Sussex RH16 9LQ.
Telephone: FREEPHONE 0800 074 0188
(Mon-Fri 8am-6pm, Sat 9am-5pm)
Overseas +44 1382 575052
E-mail: sales@thisengland.co.uk
Internet: www.thisengland.co.uk
EDITORIAL:
This England, The Lypiatts, Lansdown Road,
Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, GL50 2JA.
Telephone: UK 01242 225780
Overseas +44 (0) 1242 225780
E-mail: editor@thisengland.co.uk
Articles and photographs submitted for publication must be
accompanied by a stamped addressed envelope for return if
unsuitable. Whilst all reasonable care will be taken, the Publishers
do not accept responsibility for loss of, or damage to material sent
in for consideration. Address all submissions to the Editor at
This England’s Editorial Office.
On a winter’s
night, floodlights
illuminate one
of England’s
greatest
ecclesiastical
treasures:
Beverley Minster
in the East Riding
of Yorkshire.
KERRY DUNCAN
Page Contents WINTER 2017 Source/Contributor
12 The Historic Homes of England:
Berkeley Castle, Gloucestershire
John Blake
14 Speak to me of England Margaret Dixon
10 The Editor’s Letter Stephen Garnett
12 A Royal History of England: James II Paul James
16 In England — Now!:
A Rescue Centre…for Rocking Horses
Hilary Gray
18 English Excursions: Histories and Mysteries of North Essex John Wade
22 A Royal Wedding Anniversary: 70 Glorious Years Angeline Wilcox
24 London Pride: Historic Cemeteries Barbara Bothwell
26 Notes from a Cottage Garden Rosemary Pettigrew
28 Customs and Curiosities of Oxford and Cambridge Adam Jacot de Boinod
31 A Winter’s Day in England Rebecca Welshman
32 Poets’ Corner Susan Kelleher
34 Trams into Town Christopher Nicholson
38 Nelson’s Column: Keeping an eye on the nation George Nelson
40 The art of John Lowerson Peter Worsley
42 Post Box: Letters to the Editor —
43 Silver Cross of St. George: Roger Helmer Charles Meredith
46 This England’s New Festival of Britain! —
48 Forget-Me-Nots: Long Live The Guisers! Maurice Holmes
50 Ding Dong Merrily On High Rebecca Crowley
52 Christian England: The Church of St. Michael
and St. George, Castleton, Yorkshire
John Watson
54 Memories of Michael Bond Amanda Hodges
56 In search of Lawrence of Arabia Steve Roberts
60 Where Have all the Fairies Gone? Lin Bensley
62 Turner’s House: Sandycombe Lodge, Twickenham Amanda Hodges
66 Centenary of the First World War:
Story of the Scrapbooks
Susan Ross
68 Cornucopia —
72 English Books —
76 English Diary —
100 Home Again David Webb
This England — read by two million patriots all over the World!
Printed in England by Webmart Ltd, OX26 4UL
Distributed by Marketforce (UK), 2nd Floor, 5 Churchill Place, Canary Wharf, London E14 5HU.
EXPORT DISTRIBUTION (excluding AU and NZ) Seymour Distribution Ltd, 2 East Poultry Avenue, London EC1A 9PT
Tel: +44(0)20 7429 4000 Fax: +44(0)20 7429 4001 Email: info@seymour.co.uk Website: www.seymour.co.uk
© 2017 This England Publishing Ltd.
This England, ISSN 0040-6171, is published quarterly (Feb., May, Aug., Nov.) by This England Publishing Ltd., Stonecroft, 69 Station Road, Redhill, Surrey, RH1 1EY, UNITED KINGDOM.
The US annual subscription price is $41.18. Airfreight and mailing in the USA by agent named Worldnet Shipping Inc., 156-15, 146th Avenue, 2nd Floor, Jamaica, NY 11434, USA.
Application to Mail at Periodicals Postage Prices is Paid at Jamaica NY 11431.
US Postmaster: Send address changes to This England, Worldnet Shipping Inc., 156-15, 146th Avenue, 2nd Floor, Jamaica, NY 11434, USA.
Subscription records are maintained at This England Publishing Ltd., Stonecroft, 69 Station Road, Redhill, Surrey, RH1 1EY, UNITED KINGDOM.
Air Business Ltd is acting as our mailing agent.
THIS ENGLAND, Winter, 2017 3

Speak to me of England
Margaret Dixon
Winter sunshine along the Cotswold Way,
near Winchcombe in Gloucestershire.
PAUL I. MAKEPEACE

Narrow lanes, with leafy trees,
A gently laughing English breeze,
Crested waves on summer seas —
This is the land of England.
The scent of roses in full bloom,
A lazy afternoon in June —
These come to set my heart in tune,
These speak to me of England.

Frosts in late autumn — sparkling white,
November mists — the sheer delight
Of fireworks every Bonfire Night —
On some green lawn of England.
A very English cup of tea,
A little English company,
A smile from someone dear to me —
Bred and born in old England.
A solitary fisherman amid the seasonal mist on
the tranquil Esthwaite Water, Lancashire.
SIMON WHALEY

Returning to England on a plane —
Landing in cold and pouring rain,
Yet this is home — I’m back again,
My heart is here — in England.
Looking towards the magnificent York Minster
across the snow-capped rooftops of the city.
DERYCK LISTER HALLAM

My heart is in the paradise,
Which here surrounds me — spires that rise,
Within the city — love ne’er dies,
For cottage — town — this England.

I
remember reading an article a little while ago in
which the writer recalled some of the sounds that
were once familiar in everyday life in England that
have now virtually, or completely, disappeared. They included
the clattering of the keys on a manual typewriter and the “ping”
of the bell as you neared the end of a line, the sounds associated
with dialling a number on a rotary telephone including the
“click-click-click” of the dial as it returned to the start position
(and, of course, the sound of a telephone actually ringing), and
the “cha-ching” (Is that an accurate description?) of the cash till
in the local shop.
Although more difficult to recall as they cannot always be
associated with tangible pieces of equipment such as telephones
and typewriters, there will also be thousands of phrases that
were once spoken but which, as our society and ways of doing
things have changed, have fallen into disuse. I am sure that one
of these must be, “Are you coming out to play?”, a question I
was asked innumerable times after answering a knock on the
door of my childhood home in Lancashire and seeing one or
two of my schoolfriends standing on the step ready for action.
In the England of 2017, do children still go out to play?
For me and my friends, those six simple words were a
magical incantation like “abracadabra”, “hocus pocus” or “open
sesame”, allowing us entry to a land where all sorts of games
and adventures could be enjoyed. I suppose I was lucky because
behind my house a grassy path, like a green tunnel with high
hedgerows on either side, led down to a stile beyond which was a
child’s paradise: fields, hills, a small wood complete with gurgling
stream, and the occasional empty barn or isolated building where
farm machinery or animal feed were stored. There was even —
as if Enid Blyton herself had created the surroundings — the
tumbledown remains of an old house: haunted, of course.
We had all devoured the adventures of the “Famous Five”,
“Just William” and Swallows and Amazons, and knew all about
Robin Hood and his Merry Men, King Arthur and the Knights
of the Round Table, and various Wild West heroes from the
pages of our weekly comics, so there was a rich mine of treasure
to draw on for our games. In 2017, I expect games of Cowboys
and Indians, where cap-firing pistols and rifles were opposed by
bows and arrows with red suckers on the tips, would have to be
renamed. But can you imagine the shout: “Let’s play Cowboys
and Native Americans”? No, it would never catch on.
When weekends and school holidays allowed we would
lose ourselves in that world, often disappearing for whole days
at a time. All we needed were a few sandwiches, a bottle of
lemonade, a sturdy stick in case we encountered enemies and,
when the mood for hunting took us, a net on the end of a long
cane and a jam jar to carry home tadpoles from the brook.
At one point in its journey through our kingdom, on its
way to the great ocean as we imagined, the brook was crossed
by a narrow one-sided bridge. This was great for hanging
precariously off, launching sticks for racing off…and, which
happened on numerous occasions, falling into the water off.
If our acrobatics on the bridge didn’t result in us receiving a
soaking, our attempts to leap across to the opposite bank in
response to a “dare” very often did.
We could follow the stream through the wood, where there
were trees to climb and dens to construct, before it emerged at
the edge of a sloping field and disappeared into a mysterious
tunnel. I remember one of our gang, in true Famous Five
fashion, bravely entering the black hole on a simple raft he had
made. The fearless lad’s name was Glyn whose parents owned
a bakery and cake shop in the village and we watched in silence
as, propelled by a long pole, he vanished into the darkness.
A few moments later there was a great deal of splashing and
shouting as he reappeared, punting for all he was worth to
escape from the monster he had encountered in the tunnel and
which was now pursuing him. Just in time he leapt to safety
from the raft, joining us on a grassy mound from where we
watched with growing trepidation as a large mysterious shape
emerged slowly from the gloom and, as the sunlight suddenly
washed over it, a hefty piece of wood floated into view.
I cannot remember, once our horror had turned to mirth,
whether that particular piece of timber was hauled out of
the water and added to our collection of branches, twigs,
garden refuse and assorted bits and pieces of rubbish, but as
soon as autumn was glimpsed in our wood — a quiet, gentle,
philosophical gentleman in russet-coloured clothes — all our
efforts were suddenly turned towards gathering material for the
great annual event that was Bonfire Night.
My family had one of the largest gardens in the road (although
I have been back there since and it didn’t seem so very big) so
that was where the bonfire was built for friends and neighbours
to enjoy. The mums laid on some delicious food — baked
potatoes with butter, pea soup, treacle toffee — while the dads
took charge of handing out the sparklers, lighting the bonfire,
nailing Catherine wheels to wooden posts and carefully putting
matches to the touch paper on fireworks. Popular brands were
Standard, Brocks and Pain’s with names — roman candle, jack
in the box, snowstorm, volcano, golden fountain, traffic light etc.
— that hinted at the displays we could expect as they fizzed and
wooshed and cascaded their showers of colourful sparks, creating
clouds of smoke and an unforgettable firework aroma that drifted
over the heads of the excited spectators. Rockets were launched
from milk bottles, accompanied by the loudest “Ooohs” and
“Aaahs” of the evening as they screamed skyward and exploded
into a galaxy of gold, silver, red and blue stars.
One of my friends, David Fleming who lived in the same
road as me, always attended the Bonfire Night celebrations and
invariably brought with him a collection of fireworks that were
10 THIS ENGLAND, Winter, 2017

igger and better than anyone
else’s. Of course the rest of us
boys and girls were thrilled by
the spectacular show his giant
sky rockets put on, but I think
our enjoyment was tempered
by just a twinge of envy. Not
that we were surprised by the
extravagance of his contributions.
After all, this was the lad who
had told us when he first joined
our gang that he had a playroom
in his house! Yes, a playroom!
A room specially set aside for play! A ballroom, great hall or
gymnasium at number 22 Branch Road would have been less of
a surprise. We were astounded.
The onset of winter didn’t stop us playing out. Those
fields and lanes covered in snow and ice offered different
opportunities: snowball fights, the building of snowmen and, on
one memorable occasion, the construction at the top of a steep
hill of a massive snow boulder. It took several of us a whole
day to make and after a few young shoulders had pushed it on
its way less than a minute for it to thunder down the slope and
smash itself to smithereens on the barbed-wire fence below.
That same hill was the most popular local place for sledging
and making slides. These activities lasted all afternoon, with the
shouts and laughter of warmly wrapped-up children ringing out
across the fields until evening fell and all colour faded from the
landscape save for the black of the trees and the winding road
in the valley below, and the white of the snow. Then, in a world
that seemed unnaturally silent, it was home to tea, a cheerful
fire and curtains drawn to keep out the night.
It was only for the few days before and after Christmas Day
that playing with friends was temporarily suspended. Visits
to and from relatives took priority, and activities that could
be enjoyed indoors: Hide and Seek (if we went to stay at my
grandparents’ large farmhouse in the Lake District), Blind
Man’s Buff and favourite card and board games.
There were also Christmas presents to play with! My sister
and I received some wonderful gifts and one year I was thrilled
to unwrap a magnificent castle. Constructed of solid wood
and complete with a drawbridge and portcullis that could be
wound up and down, a dungeon beneath the courtyard and
turreted towers at each corner, this knocked into a cocked hat
anything that David Fleming ever received. Although for a
number of years Father Christmas took undeserved credit for
its appearance and quality, I now know that thanks are due to
one of my uncles. He could have been a carpenter, plumber,
electrician or builder, and his skills surpassed any that the man
in the red outfit on the sleigh could ever hope to muster.
When I revisited the area a few years ago, I found my
childhood home almost unrecognisable. Thankfully, though, the
fields and woods behind the house remained just as they were
and untouched by the developments that have scarred so much
of England during the last 50 years. But where were the children?
Where were the boys swinging on a rope above the stream?
Where were the girls with their skipping rope stretched across the
road or playing hopscotch on a chalked grid on the pavement?
Where was the huddle of boys and girls with arms outstretched
in the age-old practice of deciding who was
going to be “It” in a game of Tag? We used various rhymes to
determine this. One of them went something like…
Ip dip
My blue ship,
Sailing on the water
Like a cup and saucer —
O-U-T spells out!
There was also “One potato, two potato, three potato,
four…” but to the youngsters of today these chants and the
customs associated with them must seem as mysterious and
irrelevant as the forgotten language and rituals of an ancient
tribe. They have their own language, the language of the
internet and social media, where games are played in silence
on a screen, communication takes place through a computer
keyboard, and, like the big bad wolf in one of the stories
recounted in my world, those who would do them harm are
always on the lookout for ways to break in.
One of the greatest barriers to children playing out has been
the increase in traffic during the past decades: it is no longer
safe. I was heartened, therefore, to hear about a group, Playing
Out Bristol (playingout.net), which is enjoying tremendous
success — both locally and nationwide — not only in creating
the conditions (arranging for streets to be closed to traffic etc.)
where children can enjoy themselves, but also reviving the
whole culture of healthy street activities and games.
Whenever I think of those carefree boys and girls and their
adventures among the Lancashire hills all those years ago I am
always reminded of that lovely film from 1961, Whistle Down
the Wind, with Hayley Mills and Alan Bates. We didn’t find an
escaped criminal in our barn who we mistook for “gentle Jesus”,
but we weren’t so very different. I also recall Blue Remembered
Hills, Dennis Potter’s ingenious 1979 television play in which the
roles of the children, playing in the Forest of Dean during the
Second World War, were taken by adult actors (Helen Mirren,
Michael Elphick, Robin Ellis, Collin Welland etc.).
Try as I might, thoughts of A. E. Housman’s achingly
poignant poem then become impossible to shut out.
Into my heart an air that kills
From yon far country blows:
What are those blue remembered hills,
What spires, what farms are those?
That is the land of lost content,
I see it shining plain,
The happy highways where I went
And cannot come again.
TRINITY MIRROR/MIRRORPIX/ALAMY STOCK PHOTO
THIS ENGLAND, Winter, 2017 11

Opinions about King James II
were mixed in his lifetime and
have remained divided ever
since. One of his friends and supporters,
Thomas Bruce, 2nd Earl of Ailesbury,
wrote in his memoirs, “I do affirm that
he was the most honest and sincere
man I ever knew: a great and good
Englishman, and a high protector of
trade, and had nothing so much at heart
as the glory and strength of the fleet and
navy.” Yet the Victorian historian Henry
Buckle in his History of Civilisation in
England (1857) wrote, “It makes one’s
flesh creep to think that such a man
should have been the ruler of millions,”
calling James II both “a disgrace” and
“a slur on the age.” Others concur that
he would have made an excellent King
of France or Spain, but did not quite suit
the England in which he lived.
Some historians consider him to
have been a very weak man, and diarist
Samuel Pepys wrote of him, “The Duke
of York, in all things but his amours, is
led by the nose of his wife.” But overall
he appears to have been a man of
considerable contrasts. If an ineffectual
King, he was nevertheless a brave soldier.
He was married twice and had many
mistresses, yet was a religious zealot. He
believed firmly in the Divine Right of
Kings, but too easily gave up his crown.
James II was born at St. James’s
Palace in London at midnight on 14th
October 1633, the second surviving son
of Charles I and Henrietta Maria, and
the brother of Charles II. He was called
Duke of York from birth, and in 1642
was made a Knight of the Garter. He
later became Earl of Ulster and Duke of
Normandy. Unusually, he was appointed
Lord High Admiral at the age of three,
which was an honorary title! He did,
however, take on the role in a practical
way as an adult.
He was educated by private tutors
but, as he grew older, it was said that he
was not hugely intelligent or witty, and
lacked the charm of his brother Charles.
He had a fair complexion as a youth
and grew to be very tall, once described
as being “two yards high”. Paintings
show him regally dressed and with an
elaborately curled periwig as an adult.
Even if depicted wearing armour, he
would still be swathed with sashes and
cloaks.
James II
(1685-1688)
James’s education was curtailed by
the Civil War, which came to dominate
his childhood. He was with his father at
the Battle of Edgehill, and was almost
killed when a cannonball missed him
by inches. For his own safety James
was sent to live in Oxford, which was
a Royalist stronghold, but following a
siege there in 1646 he was moved to St.
James’s Palace.
Instead of being a home, however,
his birthplace became a virtual prison.
James managed to escape in 1648 with
the help of an Irish colonel called Joseph
Bampfield. He was eventually smuggled
out of the country and taken to The
Hague disguised as a young girl to avoid
detection.
By the age of 19 he had begun to
serve in the French army and became a
Lieutenant-General. He was given his
own Regiment of York, and experienced
military combat in the War of Fronde, a
French civil war, receiving praise for his
apparent lack of fear. He later said that
being part of the French army was the
happiest of times for him.
Following the execution of Charles
I in 1649, and with England under the
control of Oliver Cromwell, James’s
elder brother Charles attempted to claim
the throne that was rightfully his. When
Charles turned to Spain for help, the
brothers were suddenly at odds. Spain
was an enemy of France and James felt
strongly that their loyalty should be to
France. When it became known that
Charles had allied himself with Spain,
James was expelled from the French
army.
With his younger brother, Henry,
James travelled to Bruges, and
eventually joined the Spanish army. In
a twist of fate, he then found himself
fighting unwillingly against French
soldiers at the Battle of Dunes, soldiers
who had once been his friends. In
1659 there was a truce between France
and Spain, but by this time James
had developed a closer bond with the
Spanish and was even offered the post
of admiral in their navy. But everything
was to change for the Stuarts when his
brother was restored to the throne as
King Charles II in 1660.
James was now heir presumptive,
although it seemed unlikely that he
would ever inherit the throne. Charles
was married and it was assumed that he
would father heirs of his own to succeed.
As it happened, Charles had numerous
children with a variety of mistresses, but
no legitimate heir.
In the year that the monarchy was
restored James married Anne Hyde,
who was the daughter of the King’s chief
minister Edward Hyde. She and James
had been little more than a dalliance
in the previous year, but when she
revealed that she was expecting a child,
the couple agreed to marry. This did not
go down well with King Charles or his
court. As a commoner, Anne was not
considered to be a suitable bride for a
royal Duke.
James refused to acquiesce and
married Anne secretly at Breda,
Holland. Once the deed was done and
there was no going back, James told his
family of the ceremony. Consequently,
James and Anne were given a second,
12 THIS ENGLAND, Winter, 2017

more public wedding, on 3rd September
1660 at Worcester House in The
Strand. A son was born two months
later, but died within weeks. A further
five children also died in infancy, but
two daughters survived: Mary, born
1662, and Anne, born 1665. Both were
destined to become Queens of England.
On his brother’s accession, James
was given the Scottish title Duke of
Albany and was eventually made Lord
High Commissioner for Scotland,
with Holyrood House in Edinburgh
as his official residence. The office of
Lord High Admiral now became an
official role and he commanded the
navy during subsequent wars with the
Dutch. A particular success was his
defeat of a Dutch fleet off the coast of
Lowestoft in June 1665. He was also
appointed Governor of Portsmouth and
Lord Warden of the Cinque Ports, and
oversaw the refortification of the south
coast of England.
In 1664 Charles II gave his brother
territory in America between the
Delaware and Connecticut rivers. The
former Dutch territory — surrendered
to England without a fight — was
renamed in his honour. The port of New
Amsterdam became known as New
York after James’s title, Duke of York.
When London was hit by the Great
Plague, James and Anne sought refuge
in Salisbury and later Oxford in the
summer of 1665 to avoid being infected.
They returned to the capital once the
plague had subsided, but London was
soon hit by another disaster: the Great
Fire of London. In September 1666
James was put in charge of bringing the
fire under control.
In his private life, James remained
devoted to Anne until her death in 1671,
although he was regularly unfaithful.
James kept various mistresses including
Arabella Churchill (an ancestor of
Winston), with whom he fathered four
children. He made no secret of the
liaison and the offspring were given the
surname FitzJames. Another mistress
was Catherine Sedley, who he later
created Countess of Dorchester. It
became a family joke that James was
attracted to plain women rather than
great beauties, and Charles II teased
his brother saying that the women were
imposed upon him as a penance.
Catherine Sedley worked for an
Italian princess, Mary of Modena, who
the widowed James married in 1673, first
by proxy at the Ducal Palace in Modena
on 30th September and then in person
on 21st November with a wedding
ceremony in Dover, Kent. The fact that
James and Anne Hyde by Sir Peter Lely.
Mary, the new Duchess of York, was a
Roman Catholic made her unpopular in
England, and on her arrival Londoners
burned an effigy of the Pope in protest.
James fathered 12 children with Mary,
most dying in infancy or early childhood
as with his first wife, although two
survived into adulthood.
Towards the end of Charles II’s reign,
there was a republican plot to assassinate
both the King and James, Duke of York,
as his immediate heir because of their
Roman Catholic leanings. It was known
as the Rye House Plot, named after a
house at Hoddesdon, Hertfordshire,
which the brothers were supposed to pass
on their way home from the Newmarket
races and outside which they were to be
killed. It was their good fortune to leave
the races early and the plot was foiled.
When it became common knowledge,
there was a huge wave of public support
and affection for the King and the Duke.
The Rye House Plot was instigated
by the Earl of Essex, who committed
suicide, and Charles II’s illegitimate son,
the Duke of Monmouth, who fled abroad
for his own safety.
James’s second
wife: Mary of
Modena.
When Charles II died on 6th February
1685, James came to the throne as James
II of England and Ireland, and also
James VII of Scotland. He was privately
crowned at Whitehall Palace with
Catholic rites on 22nd April, and the
following day, St. George’s Day, with
full ceremony at Westminster Abbey,
along with his wife, Mary, although they
refused the Anglican sacrament.
It was a time of rejoicing for the
people of England and there was no
opposition from Parliament at the
start of the reign. When Members
assembled in May 1685, they became
known as the “Loyal Parliament”.
Nearly all officers kept their positions
and the new King forgave those who
had opposed him in the past and had
wanted him removed from the line
of succession, and so it was a smooth
transition. Parliament also granted
the King a very generous financial
settlement with a Revenue Bill that
assured him an income for life.
Although the reign had begun
smoothly, it was not long before trouble
started brewing and James faced
rebellions in both England and Scotland.
The most serious was led by his nephew
the Duke of Monmouth, an illegitimate
son of Charles II by his mistress Lucy
Walters. Monmouth felt that, as
Charles’s son, he should have been the
next monarch. He firmly believed that,
because he was a Protestant, the whole
of England would support him. He
landed at Lyme Regis on 11th June and
was proclaimed King by his supporters
at Taunton in Somerset. Monmouth
stayed at the George Inn at Norton St.
Philip, which became his headquarters
while planning his rebellion. The inn
still exists and is one of England’s oldest
taverns, having first been granted a
licence to sell alcohol in 1397.
THIS ENGLAND, Winter, 2017 13

‘A ROYAL HISTORY OF ENGLAND’ (continued)
The George Inn at Norton St. Philip.
On 6th July 1685 Monmouth’s
army of some 4,000 men mounted a
surprise night-time attack on James
II’s royalist forces at Westonzoyland,
a village near Bridgwater in Somerset.
In what has become known as the
Battle of Sedgemoor, Monmouth was
easily defeated and around 1,300 of his
supporters were killed and he was later
found hiding in a ditch. He was captured
and sentenced to death.
The Duke of Monmouth was
executed at the Tower of London on
15th July. More than 300 of his followers
were hanged, others were flogged or
fined, and around 800 were deported
and sold into slavery following the
“Bloody Assizes” of Judge Jeffreys. It
was not an auspicious start to James
II’s reign. There were also rumours
that the Queen and courtiers had
made a shameless profit out of the
sale of pardons and that the King had
sanctioned acts of cruelty.
Across the border, there was also a
small rebellion in Scotland when the
Earl of Argyll sailed from Holland,
where he had been hiding following a
conviction for treason. Accompanied
by 300 men, he tried to raise an army
of the Campbell clan, but it came to
nothing and Argyll was taken prisoner
in Edinburgh on 18th June 1685 and was
sentenced to death as a traitor.
As with so many of his predecessors,
the matter of religion came to dominate
much of James II’s reign. He was
England’s last Roman Catholic monarch
and some Protestant MPs fought against
him as he tried to obtain acceptance
for Catholics and non-conformists to
worship, as his brother had done before
him.
It was while living in France that
James had been drawn to the Catholic
faith and secretly converted to
Catholicism in around 1668. He applied
for a papal dispensation which would
enable him to continue worshipping
in the Church of England for the sake
of appearances, but
Pope Clement IX
refused to grant it.
During the
reign of Charles
II, Parliament
introduced the Test
Act of 1673 which
required anyone
holding civil or
military office to
denounce Catholic
practices and to
receive the eucharist
only in the Anglican
church. James refused to accept this and
relinquished his position as Lord High
Admiral. In doing so, he effectively
revealed his Catholic conversion and
Parliament tried unsuccessfully to
have him removed from the line of
succession. Whilst remaining a Catholic,
James agreed that his daughters, Mary
and Anne, should be brought up as
Protestants so that their place in the line
was secure.
When, as King, he wanted to
allow Roman Catholics to command
regiments he faced opposition from his
once loyal Parliament. The Tories were
the dominant power and were staunchly
Anglican. The Whigs tolerated nonconformists.
Both parties were anti-
Catholic. Not to be undermined, James
discontinued the Parliamentary session
and it never sat again for the rest of
his reign. He placed Catholics in high
offices, including important positions
at Oxford colleges, and in 1687 issued
a Declaration of Indulgence, which
effectively ended all laws that were
unfavourable to Catholics.
The following year, at his instigation,
it was proposed that a revised version
of the Declaration should be read out
in every Anglican church in England on
two successive Sundays. Most vicars in
England refused and, where they did,
congregations walked out of church.
The Archbishop of Canterbury,
William Sancroft, and six bishops,
fiercely opposed the Declaration. They
were arrested, imprisoned in the Tower
of London, and put on trial for seditious
libel, but were later acquitted.
On 10th June 1688 James became a
father again when Queen Mary gave
birth to a son, christened James Francis
Edward and immediately titled Prince
of Wales. As a male he superseded
James’s Protestant daughters and
became a Roman Catholic heir to the
throne. To discredit this new Prince,
James’s Protestant enemies invented the
warming pan story, spreading rumours
that the baby had been smuggled into
the Queen’s bedchamber. As a result,
there was always doubt that he was
actually a son of James II and the Prince
became known eventually as “The Old
Pretender”.
On 22nd October 1688 James made a
declaration to Parliament that the Prince
of Wales was genuinely his son and heir,
but it was rejected. The young Prince was
barred from the line of succession by an
Act of Settlement and subsequently had
to forfeit all his British titles. Although
royal births had witnesses at this time,
none appeared to be impartial at Queen
Mary’s confinement. James’s daughter
Anne should have been present at the
birth, but had been persuaded to visit
Bath instead.
Within weeks the Bishop of London
and a group of six prominent politicians
invited the Dutch William of Orange,
who was James’s nephew and son-inlaw,
to come to England to “save the
Protestant religion”.
William of Orange landed at
Brixham, Devon, on 5th November
1688. A statue at the harbour now
commemorates his arrival. An army of
some 13,000 men followed and marched
through Exeter and on to Bristol and
Salisbury. It was the beginning of what
is now called the Glorious Revolution,
with James’s supporters becoming
known as “Jacobites” after the Latin
version of “James”.
The King was taken by surprise,
expecting William to land in Kent rather
than Devon. His army prepared to
confront William’s men at Warminster,
but the King was stricken with a serious
nosebleed on 19th November and
withdrew, eventually going back home
to Whitehall Palace in London, where
he discovered that even his daughter
Anne had fled to Nottingham. The
army and navy lost confidence in their
monarch and soon the whole English
navy became supporters of William.
James decided to run rather than
fight for his position, first destroying as
many government papers as he could
lay his hands on. With the Queen and
A memorial to the Battle of Sedgemoor.
W.P. ANDREWS
14 THIS ENGLAND, Winter, 2017

the baby Prince of Wales escaping in
advance to France, James set off to join
them, leaving London in the early hours
of 11th December. At Vauxhall he
threw the Great Seal of the Realm into
the River Thames, which symbolically
marked the end of his reign. He had
been on the throne just three years and
many historians consider that he gave up
the crown far too easily.
James was preparing to set sail from
Sheerness when he was recognised,
captured, and returned to London.
William of Orange, placed in a difficult
position with James being his fatherin-law,
decided that the King should
be set free. On 23rd December James
crossed the English Channel, arriving
at Ambleteuse, near Boulogne on
Christmas Day. He went directly to
his cousin, King Louis XIV of France,
who gave him a home at St. Germain
and a pension. Jacobite sympathizers in
England began to drink a secret toast
to “the King over the water” as a sign
of their allegiance to him, holding their
glasses over finger-bowls of water on
the table. Fellow supporters instantly
recognised the sign.
The news that James had thrown the
Great Seal into the River Thames was
taken by Parliament to mean that the
King had voluntarily given up the crown.
It was agreed that William of Orange
would become King of England and
rule jointly with his wife, James’s eldest
daughter, Mary.
A Bill of Rights brought an official
end to James II’s reign and included
clauses that still affected the monarchy
into this century: stating that no Roman
Catholic could be King or Queen,
and no one in the line of succession
could marry a Catholic. In 1978 Prince
Michael of Kent gave up his place in the
line of succession to marry the Roman
Catholic Marie Christine von Reibnitz.
The Duke of Kent’s eldest son, the Earl
of St. Andrews, also lost his place in
1988 on marrying the Catholic Sylvana
Tomaselli. Following a new Succession
to the Crown Act, which came into force
in 2015, anyone marrying a Catholic is
no longer disqualified. Consequently,
the Earl of St. Andrews was reinstated
and is now 35th in line, and Prince
Michael currently 45th.
James II was formally deposed on 23rd
December. After a short interregnum,
he was succeeded in February 1689 by
his Protestant son-in-law, and the reign
of King William III and Queen Mary
II began. On 11th April 1689, Scotland
also decided that James had given up the
crown and was no longer their King.
A painting of the Battle of the Boyne by Jan Van Huchtenburg (1647-1733).
Although James appeared to cast
off the mantle of sovereignty without a
fight, he did make attempts to reclaim
his crown. In March 1689 he sailed to
Ireland, where an Act of Liberty and
Conscience had been passed by the Irish
Parliament, which granted religious
freedom to all Catholics and Protestants.
Basing himself in Dublin, he formed
an army and on 1st July 1690 attacked
the forces of William of Orange 30
miles away on the River Boyne. William
personally led his army, the last time
two Kings of England faced each other
in battle, and had a decisive victory at
the Battle of the Boyne. It marked a
turning point in the Protestant history
of Ireland and is commemorated every
July with a public holiday and a march
of Orange Men through the streets of
Northern Ireland.
James returned to France and never
visited England again, although he did
send an invasion fleet from Normandy in
May 1692 in one final attempt to regain
the throne, but lost in the resulting naval
battles of Barfleur and La Hogue.
In 1697 Louis XIV signed the Treaty
of Ryswick, which brought to an
end a nine-year French conflict with
England, Spain and the Holy Roman
Empire, and also stripped James of his
independent army. In the treaty, Louis
finally recognised William III as King of
England and promised to give James no
further military support.
Louis XIV continued to support
James on a personal level as his cousin
and gave him the magnificent Château
de Saint-Germain-en-Laye, where he
lived with his wife and some English
Jacobite supporters, and which became
his home for the rest of his life. In 1692
he became a father again with the birth
of a daughter, Louise, whom he called
“his solace”.
James died at the château on 16th
September 1701 at the age of 68
after suffering a brain haemorrhage.
Unusually, the former King was not
buried but his coffin rested in the
Chapel of St. Edmund at the Church
of English Benedictines in Paris,
guarded by monks. They believed that
someone from England would make
arrangements to transport the body to
London to be buried amongst his royal
predecessors in Westminster Abbey, but
nobody did.
Rather gruesomely, his remains were
eventually divided up by the monks,
possibly in the belief that he would
one day be canonised and the parts
would become holy relics. James’s
remains were rediscovered in 1824 and
were reburied, along with those of his
second wife, Mary of Modena. In 1855
Queen Victoria visited St. Germain and
personally paid for a memorial to James
in the church to mark his final resting
place.
PAUL JAMES
THIS ENGLAND, Winter, 2017 15

In England
— NOW!
Celebrating English achievement,
enterprise and creativity in the 21st century
A Rescue Centre… for Rocking Horses
Aspecial pleasure for me when
as a child I was staying with
cousins who lived some 60 miles
away was to be invited to have a ride
on the old rocking horse kept stored in
their top-floor attic. Dapple, as they had
called him because of his colouring, was
very good-natured, later even putting up
with the weight of young teenagers who
liked to treat the attic as their retreat.
Dapple was fortunate, for having been
kept stored safely away, warm and dry,
he remained in good condition and was
ready and waiting to be introduced in
due course to my cousins’ own children
and to provide pleasure for a second
generation.
Not all these family favourites
enjoyed such a favourable retirement.
They could be banished to an outdoor
“stable” as the children grew up, sharing
a garden shed with various bicycles,
lawnmowers and the like, until the
thought occurred to the family that
perhaps he — or she — could be just
the means of entertaining visiting
grandchildren.
However long the interval of time,
a means of rehabilitation is available
— supplied by a rocking-horse
restorer such as Beatrice Legay, whose
Tetbury Rocking Horse Works in
Gloucestershire offers just that service.
Beatrice started her specialist business
nine years ago — actually in Stroud, a
short distance from Tetbury. “It is quite
a niche market,” she says, “and I am
kept busy seven days a week.”
She also makes new rocking horses,
for which she has her own particular
style. “I shape the head to give the horse
a kind of turn of the 19th- to 20thcentury
style, with a rather narrow head
like that of a greyhound, as that was the
way artists were picturing horses at that
time,” she says.
The horses on which she works may
well be of that vintage. They come to her
of all ages, sizes, and from all parts of
the country.
“I gain a lot of business through
clients seeing my advertising on my
website,” Beatrice is pleased to say.
“They make contact and either they
come to see me or I take samples of my
work to them so that they can see what
restoration can achieve.”
Is that a heavy task for her, loading
and unloading the horses into her
transport?
“Not at all,” she says, “They are much
lighter than you think, as the bodies are
usually
hollow.”
This lovely example was made by a German
POW.
Beatrice is French but has lived in
England since the age of 19, and this
is where she wants to stay. It was here
that she began the greater part of her
working life, but having gone on to
marry and have a family it was not until
the youngest of her five children was old
enough for her to return to combining
family life with her career that she took
up carpentry seriously.
“My work has always been craftinspired,”
she says. “When it was
time to return to the world of work I
took formal training at the Women’s
Workshop in Birmingham in carpentry
and other practical skills. That was
absolutely brilliant.
“I went on to take a course at South
Birmingham College which covered
a variety of trade skills — carpentry,
plumbing, painting and decorating,
tiling, plastering and bricklaying. I
studied up to a level three City and
Guilds certificate in carpentry.
“When I started working I did
anything — changing windows, doors,
working on kitchens and bathrooms,
any size project. I have always worked
mainly on my own as when you have
small children you have to work around
your own family commitments,” she
explains. This was also the reason that
she decided it would be helpful if she
could make her home her working base,
and it resulted in the launch of Tetbury
Rocking Horse Works.
Carpentry is very much a part
of the restoration process. “The
Above: A rocking horse in
need of repair like those
(left) in the “hospital”.
Right: A restored rocking
horse which was made
originally by the renowned
company of F.H. Ayres.
16 THIS ENGLAND, Winter, 2017

Beatrice at work.
horses I work on are mostly of wood,”
says Beatrice, “but I also restore those
of fibre-glass or metal, or of fur-fabric
or cowhide on a framework. If they
arrive in very poor condition, they may
need to be reconstructed. When in that
state they are not really worth anything,
but back to the condition in which they
should be, as they were in their heyday,
they will definitely increase in value, and
do so even more over time.
“People may have had rocking horses
stored away, then suddenly happen to
notice them and wonder whether they
might be of some value,” she observes.
The answer is that they certainly can be.
This is when the conditions in which
they had been stored comes into play.
They need to be “re-acclimated” by
being moved from outdoors to back
indoors — returned from a damp
atmosphere to a drier one. “This stage
will need to be for at least six months,”
says Beatrice. “The horses will need
to be really dry before I start work on
them.”
The cost of restoration depends of
course on the condition in which the
rocking horses arrive; prices start from
around £850 to £1,200. If the customer
would like to commission Beatrice to
make them a brand-new rocking horse,
this cost will be within a range of £1,600
to £3,500 depending on the size and
other features.
The showroom in Tetbury.
“I make the body and head of my
rocking horses in Quebec pine, a timber
that is quite light, shiny and doesn’t
move in atmospheric conditions,” she
says. “For the legs I use beechwood,
for strength. But this wood has to be
treated immediately with protection
from woodworm, to which beech is
particularly vulnerable. I find that the
pine is nice to carve, and for developing
the shape.
“As regards size, they can be from 30
to 60 inches high, that is on the stand to
the highest point of the horse, the tips of
its ears.”
The manes and tails are made from
real horse hair, the colour toning with
that of the coat as closely as possible.
“The colours are according to
commission,” says Beatrice. “But my
horses are mainly dapple-grey, although
I also have a beautiful brown that looks
so natural that you seem almost to feel
the texture of the horse’s coat.”
In her showroom Beatrice might have
six or seven rocking horses that she has
made out on display. With those in need
of restoration she can have a “stable” of
more than 20 at Tetbury Rocking Horse
Works. She manages to accommodate
them all, however, despite some of her
materials having taken over housespace.
“My living-room is now my tackroom
and my conservatory my room for
painting,” she explains. “I have a great
big shed that is my machine-room, a
small room off this for storage, and my
showroom is a separate room attached.”
Although most of Beatrice’s clients
are from this country, one of her
restored rocking horses has now gone to
a new home in Australia.
“It belonged to a family over here
who didn’t have enough space for this
enormous horse, so their daughter who
lives in Sydney offered to have it for her
own family to enjoy,” she relates. “The
cost was almost as great as that
for the restoration, with it having
to travel in a special crate and the
transit having to conform to all
the regulations.”
Doubtless, however, when this
rocking horse, like those which
go back to a United Kingdom
home, joins its family it will
receive a welcome that makes
that cost well worthwhile.
HILARY GRAY
Further Information
Tetbury Rocking Horse Works, Rooksmoor Mills, Bath Road, Stroud,
Gloucestershire GL5 5ND.
Tel: 01453 873853
www.tetburyrockinghorseworks.co.uk
The English
News
At a race meeting at Great
Yarmouth in July, a horse
with odds of 50-1 beat the hot
favourite — only for stewards to
discover that the surprise winner,
Mandarin Princess, was in fact
her much better stablemate
Millie’s Kiss. A combination of
errors had led to the wrong horse
being saddled and entered in the
race.
Police in Newquay in Cornwall
discovered that a beggar they
arrested made on average £200
a day — equivalent to an annual
salary of £73,000.
A few days before the annual
rubber duck race at Brockham
in Surrey, locals were shocked
when one of the much-fancied
competitors — Doris — was
stolen.
For his wedding during the
summer, Rich Seagrove and his
best man wore bright yellow
suits while the bridesmaids wore
black: the colours of Burton
Albion, the football-mad groom’s
favourite football team. The
hall near Ripley in Derbyshire
where the reception was held
was decorated in black and
yellow and on each table was a
photograph of a Burton Albion
“legend”.
A five-year-old girl, selling
lemonade to passers-by from
a stall outside her home in
the London borough of Tower
Hamlets, was reduced to tears
after a council enforcement
officer presented her with a fixed
penalty notice for trading without
a licence and demanded payment
of £150. Following a complaint
from the girl’s father, common
sense did eventually prevail and
the council issued an apology.
THIS ENGLAND, Winter, 2017 17

ENGLISH EXCURSIONS
Essex is a place where you learn
to expect the unexpected — and
never more so than right at the
northern edge of the county, along the
banks of the River Stour which forms a
natural boundary with Suffolk.
The river rises in Cambridgeshire
and flows east into the North Sea. At
Manningtree in Essex it widens out,
becomes more of an estuary and for the
first time is tidal. From here to Harwich
where the river meets the sea 12 miles
later, there’s history and mystery at
every turn.
Standing on Holbrook Bay, which is
part of the River Stour, Manningtree’s
name is thought to be derived from
“Many Trees”. It once lay claim to being
the smallest town in England, with no
more than 700 inhabitants living in an
area of only 20 hectares. There were
those who disputed this, notably the
350 people of Fordwich in Kent, which,
coincidentally, sits on another River
Stour. In any case Manningtree lost all
hope of claiming or retaining the title
when it merged to become a single
parish with nearby Mistley and Lawford
in 2009, thereby losing its official status
as a town, even though most people still
refer to it as such.
In the 17th century Manningtree
was home to Matthew Hopkins, the
infamous Witchfinder General. His
claims that he had heard local women
making a pact with the devil led to their
executions as witches. Today you’ll find
him lurking on the sign at the entrance
to the town.
Moving east along the banks of
the estuary we shift from history to
mystery at the village of Mistley where,
overlooking the river, two magnificent
and classically ornate towers stand just
inside the entrance to a small cemetery,
seemingly for no reason whatsoever.
Built in the neoclassical style, they
look more like tall, slender pavilions,
decorated with ionic columns and
cornices, each topped by a cupola.
The towers date back to the 1770s
when civil servant and politician
Richard Rigby of Mistley Hall was Chief
Secretary of Ireland and Paymaster
General of the Forces. Mistley at this
time was a trading port, but Rigby
decided to make the area more
upmarket, calling in architect Robert
Adam to help turn the area into a
fashionable spa. It didn’t happen, but
Adam’s services were retained to build a
new parish church. Rigby’s brief was for
it to be grand and easily seen from the
windows of his mansion.
When it was built it was all of that,
looking more like a small cathedral than
Above: Looking
across the River
Stour on the
road out of
Manningtree.
Left: The many
attractions of the
area are depicted
on a sign.
Right: The
ancient building
that houses The
Mogul restaurant
in Manningtree;
Mistley Towers.
18 THIS ENGLAND, Winter, 2017

a parish church. In the 18th century
most churches followed the traditional
design of a rectangular building with a
tower on the western end. But Adam’s
ideas were far from traditional. Out
went convention and in came an
unconventional design featuring towers
at both eastern and western ends of
the building. The actual church that
lay between the towers was small by
comparison, a single storey with a
pitched roof and ornamental entrance
porches on the north and south sides.
You can see how it looked on a sign at
the entrance to the cemetery.
The parish church of Mistley stood
for nearly 100 years, but in 1870 it was
replaced with a more fashionable Gothic
Revival church built nearby. The main
body of the old church was demolished,
but the towers were allowed to remain
intact. Two local families bought them
with the intention of using them as
mausoleums. It never happened. The
towers fell into disrepair but were
restored to their former glory in the
1950s, which is the way you can see them
today, standing alone, dwarfing the
graves that surround them.
All Saints’ Church, further east along
the road in Wrabness, is of a far more
conventional design, apart from one
detail: it has no tower. So, without a
tower, where are the church bells? They
are in a wooden cage in the churchyard,
of course.
The church dates back to the 12th
century and, originally, had a tower that
housed five bells. In the 17th century the
roof of the chancel and the tower both
collapsed. The roof was rebuilt, but the
tower wasn’t. Instead, two of the bells
were placed in a wooden structure in
the courtyard. It was intended to be a
temporary solution but 300 years later
they are still there.
Further east, beside Wrabness
Railway Station, at the end of the today
somewhat politically incorrect-sounding
Black Boy Lane, there stands a house
Left: The wooden cage
that houses Wrabness’s
church bells.
Right: Grayson Perry’s
house built as a homage
to a fictional heroine.
that is sometimes
referred to as the Taj
Mahal on the River
Stour.
It resembles a
cross between a
church and a fairytale
gingerbread
house, with a highly
ornamental design
in four diminishing
sections that look as though they could
telescope into each other. Its walls are
adorned with green and white tiles
arranged in symmetrical patterns; its
golden roof is topped with unusual
ornamentation that includes a statue of a
naked lady; the windows, which diminish
in size with each of the four sections,
protrude from the roof in domed
dormers; inside the walls are adorned
with brightly coloured tapestries,
decorative panelling, ceramics and
mosaics.
The house was designed by artist
and poet Grayson Perry. It was built
as a shrine to a woman called Julie by
her second husband. Julie was born
on Canvey Island, but later lived in
Basildon, Colchester and Wrabness. She
was killed when she was knocked down
by a scooter driven by a curry delivery
driver. At least that’s the story. Julie,
in fact, didn’t die under the wheels of a
curry-delivering scooter rider, because
she never actually lived. She is a fictional
character whose biography was dreamt
up by Perry in a long poem, written to
provide a social history of Essex since
the Second World War.
The Grayson Perry House is one
of the most remarkable buildings in
this part of Essex. It is available for
holiday rentals, but is so popular that
prospective holidaymakers are required
to enter a ballot for the chance of
winning an opportunity to stay there.
Onward then to Harwich, a town that
is positively bursting with mystery and
history. Its main claim to fame right
now is that it is home to the Mayflower
Project, a group of people who are
busy building a replica of the famous
ship with the intention of sailing it to
America in 2020 to mark the 400th
anniversary of the Pilgrim Fathers’
voyage to the New World.
The reason this is happening in
Harwich is because the Mayflower was
built in the area and was registered
in the town. Its captain, Christopher
Jones, lived at number 21 King’s Head
Street, in a 16th-century house that
bears a plaque stating: “The home of
Captain Christopher Jones, Master of
the Mayflower”. The Mayflower and its
captain, however, are far from the only
historical aspects of Harwich.
Entering the town along Main Road,
watch for signs to the Redoubt, the
largest ancient monument in the area.
Above: The Redoubt Fort in Harwich, built to
repel Napoleon’s forces.
Below: One of many murals to be found in
Harwich.
THIS ENGLAND, Winter, 2017 19

‘ENGLISH EXCURSIONS’ (continued)
Left: Harwich’s Treadmill
Crane, a kind unique to
Britain.
Right: The recently
restored lighthouses
at Dovercourt; Harwich
High Light; Harwich Low
Light; The Electric Palace
Cinema; LV18, the last
surviving example of a
Trinity House manned
light vessel in British
waters.
It’s a huge circular fort built in 1808 to
defend this coast against invasion from
Napoleon. On two levels, you can see
original cannons and other firearms on
display, while a series of rooms cut into
the stone walls of the lower level show
reconstructions of how the men who
manned the fort lived day to day.
Harwich boasts two lighthouses, one
unexpectedly standing in the centre of
the town. This is the High Light, 90 feet
tall and 150 yards from the Low Light,
half the size and nearer the sea. In 1818,
when the two lighthouses were built,
they worked as a pair. Sailors would
position their vessels so that one light
was seen directly above the other, as an
aid to guiding their ships through the
coast’s shallow waters.
In 1863, as sea currents shifted, the
lighthouses were decommissioned and
two new cast-iron lighthouses, still
standing and recently restored, were
built to serve a similar purpose nearby
at Dovercourt. These days, the older
Harwich lower lighthouse is a maritime
museum, and the higher one houses
the National Wireless and Television
Museum.
A short walk along the coastal path
from the Harwich Low Light you’ll
find the Treadwheel Crane, used in the
town’s naval yard from 1667 until as
late as 1927. Men walking around the
interior of two gigantic wheels worked
this type of crane, whose design is
unique to Britain.
Strolling from here to the town quay,
you pass along King’s Quay Street and
the Electric Palace Cinema. It’s one of
the oldest purpose-built cinemas in the
country, offering an eclectic programme,
ranging from the latest blockbusters to
cult films and vintage silent movies.
On your way to the quay, watch
out for the many murals that
decorate walls around the town.
The Angelgate Mural painted
along a wall in Wellington Road
depicts all the major landmarks of
Harwich. Among many others is one
that depicts what Captain Jones might
have looked like, along with his ship
and house. Another shows the signing
of the Mayflower Compact, a ceremony
which took place during the original
voyage, and which many believe was
a forerunner of the US Constitution.
A great many wall plaques around
the town bring you information about
people and events for which Harwich is
famous.
At the town quay, you’ll find the
Ha’penny Pier, where you can stroll out
to sea and enjoy a cup of good English
tea in the, hopefully, English sunshine.
The name of the pier dates back to 1853
when admission was charged at half a
penny, or ha’penny. (This was in the
days when British currency consisted of
12 pennies to the shilling and 20 shillings
to the pound.)
Moored alongside the pier is LV18,
the last surviving example of a Trinity
House manned light vessel in British
waters. As a provider of marine
navigation aids, Trinity House is the
General Lighthouse Authority for
England, Wales, the Channel Islands
and Gibraltar. Light vessels like this,
moored off the coast, once performed
similar functions to lighthouses.
Decommissioned in 1958, LV18 has now
been restored and transformed into a
fascinating museum.
It’s just another way in which history
mixes with mystery in this part of
unexpected Essex.
JOHN WADE
Further Information
Visit Essex, Essex County Council, County Hall, Chelmsford, Essex CM1 1QH
Tel: 03330 130177 www.visitessex.com
Historic Harwich, Tourist Information Centre, Tendring District Council, Town Hall, Station Road, Clacton-on-Sea, Essex CO15 1SE
Tel: 01255 686633 www.historicharwich.co.uk
Mayflower Project, George Street, Harwich, Essex CO12 3ND
Tel: 01255 318023 harwichmayflower.com
20 THIS ENGLAND, Winter, 2017

EXPLORE ENGLAND 2018
Gardens, castles and stately homes, historic towns
and cities, picturesque villages and stunning
countryside, working museums, heritage railways,
ancient settlements and literary landmarks…England
has something for everyone, and in this latest edition
of Explore England we have put together a collection
of articles (published for the first time) that will provide
readers with some great ideas when planning days out
or longer breaks. An added bonus is that, even if you do
not plan to visit any of the places featured, the articles
are so informative, the colour photographs so beautiful
and evocative of all that is best about England, the 100
pages are sure to keep you entertained for hours and
remain of interest far beyond 2018.
HIGHLIGHTS INCLUDE:
TRANSPORTS OF DELIGHT: We pay a visit to the
Oxford Bus Museum, where exhibits such as a preserved
horse-drawn tram, motor buses, coaches and a wide
selection of artefacts recall travel in days gone by. Classic
Morris cars and 40 vintage bicycles are also on display.
NORTHUMBERLAND’S CROWNING GLORIES:
Celebrating the climb and spectacular views from the
county’s highest peaks of Cheviot and Hedgehope.
FOTHERINGHAY’S PLACE IN ROYAL HISTORY:
This tiny Northamptonshire village, site of a former castle,
boasts a wealth of royal history including the birth of
Richard III and the execution of Mary, Queen of Scots. We
go on a journey of discovery.
Just
£6.99
to UK
New
Softback, 100 pages.
ENGLAND’S WORLD HERITAGE SITES: From the Derwent Valley Mills in Derbyshire and Studley Royal Park in Yorkshire,
to Blenheim Palace in Oxfordshire, Ironbridge Gorge in Shropshire and Stonehenge in Wiltshire, there are 20 places in England
recognised by UNESCO for their great beauty and historic importance. We look at what makes them so special.
WELCOME TO ELY: A long-time resident takes us on a tour of the historic cathedral city, whose magnifi cent ecclesiastical
structure dominates views of the fenland countryside for miles around. Annual events include festivals devoted to apples
(including a longest apple-peeling competition!) and ploughing with horses.
Just £6.99 to UK overseas £9.99.
US $20; Can $21; Aus $22; NZ $26.
As in previous years there is a useful region-by-region section providing information about
places to visit in each county, a useful diary of events and numerous other illustrated features.
Please order now for delivery in March 2018.
Code: TXP18
0800 074 0188 (FREE from UK landlines) Mon-Fri 8am-6pm, Sat 9am-5pm overseas: +44 1382 575052
This England Publishing Ltd., P.O. Box 814, Haywards Heath, Sussex RH16 9LQ.
www.thisengland.co.uk E-mail: sales@thisengland.co.uk
Dollar prices are subject to exchange rate variation if payment is made by debit/credit card. A transaction fee may apply.

Left: Princess Elizabeth and the Duke of Edinburgh on their
wedding day.
Above: The ceremony in Westminster Abbey and the
couple in the Glass Coach on their return to Buckingham
Palace.
The reign of Her Majesty the Queen has been
characterised by her dedication to duty, fulfilling a
pledge that she made on her 21st birthday in 1947.
Throughout those years, Her Majesty has been accompanied
by her loyal consort Prince Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh, the
man she famously referred to as her “strength and stay”. In
August, The Duke carried out his final official engagement, at
the age of 96, after 70 years of unstinting service; however, as
you would expect, he won’t be retiring altogether.
An overwhelming sense of devotion — to the nation, the
Commonwealth, their family and to each other — has been
at the heart of The Queen and The Duke of Edinburgh’s life
together. This is something that they will celebrate on 20th
November this year when they reach a particularly special and
personal milestone, their 70th wedding anniversary.
Theirs was a marriage that brought some much-needed joy
and happiness to a country that was emerging from the dark
shadows of war. The splendour, pomp and pageantry of a British
royal wedding was the perfect tonic, providing warmth and
brightness to a chilly November day in London. Who could resist
getting swept along in the romance of the beautiful
young princess and her dashing prince? Here was an
occasion blessed with the magic of majesty, which
also represented hope for the future.
For the 2,600 guests who witnessed the ceremony in
Westminster Abbey; the thousands of people who lined the
procession route, all eager to catch a glimpse of the fairytale
princess and her prince; and 200 million radio listeners
worldwide, it was an event they wanted to be part of — to share
and to celebrate this historic and personal moment and a new
chapter in the life of the royal family. As the wedding united the
future queen with the handsome naval lieutenant it united the
entire nation with its sense of renewal and optimism.
The couple’s engagement was officially announced on 9th
July and an estimated 10,000 messages of congratulations,
followed by some 2,500 presents, flooded in from across the
world — from heads of state, officials and ordinary wellwishers.
Wedding preparations were soon underway, although
Buckingham Palace was ever-mindful of the restrictions as
wartime rationing was still in place. Princess Elizabeth, like all
brides of the time, was allowed an extra 200 clothes coupons
towards her wedding dress, but such was the public’s affection
for the young princess and their enthusiasm for the wedding,
that many people sent her their own coupons. Kind-hearted
22 THIS ENGLAND, Winter, 2017

Above: Later years brought dedication to duty and family
life.
Left: The royal couple with children, grandchildren and
great-grandchildren after Trooping the Colour in 2016.
GRAHAM WILTSHIRE
though these gestures were, all coupons were carefully
returned as passing them on was prohibited.
Amid much secrecy and security, royal dressmaker Norman
Hartnell designed the princess’s ivory satin dress, which was
exquisitely decorated with seed pearls and crystals. After the
drabness of the war years one can imagine the enchanting,
almost effervescent appearance of the princess as she was first
seen travelling from Buckingham Palace, with her beloved
father, in the Irish State Coach. As they approached the
Abbey, the BBC’s Peter Scott summed up the emotions of
the crowd when he commented: “This is our princess, and this
great affectionate crowd is watching her going to marry the
man she loves.”
Prince Philip was waiting for the princess with his best man,
the Marquess of Milford Haven. The Daily Mirror perceptively
described the groom as: “Self-possessed and calm,” and noted:
“This calm young man is worth your observation. This is no
shadow of a consort.” How right that has proved to be.
The princess’s eight bridesmaids included her sister
Princess Margaret and her cousin Princess Alexandra. She
was also attended by two young page boys, Prince William of
Gloucester and Prince Michael of Kent, who carefully carried
the 15-foot train of her dress. The ceremony was officiated by
Geoffrey Fisher, Archbishop of Canterbury and, following
royal tradition, the wedding ring was made from a nugget of
Welsh gold. Among the music were the hymns “Praise, My
Soul, the King of Heaven” and “The Lord’s My Shepherd.”
As husband and wife, the couple left the Abbey to the
accompaniment of Mendelssohn’s “Wedding March” and
were met by the tumultuous sound of the pealing bells and
the cheering crowds. Those who followed the returning royal
procession to Buckingham Palace gathered amid a feeling
of elation and excitement, before the doors opened and the
newlyweds and members of the royal family appeared on the
balcony. Smiling and waving, the young couple
acknowledged the exuberant crowds that lined
The Mall.
After the official photographs, 150 guests enjoyed a wedding
breakfast created by the Palace chef which featured a starter
of Filet de Sole Mountbatten, a main course of partridge (a
meat which was not on ration) and a Bombe Glacée Princess
Elizabeth. The official wedding cake was made by McVitie and
Price, with ingredients supplied by the Australian Girl Guides.
Even though the official ceremony was over, the ardent wellwishers
outside weren’t going to miss the opportunity to give
the newlyweds a splendid send off on their new life together.
They waited patiently throughout the afternoon to cheer their
departure from the Palace to Waterloo Station. From there,
Princess Elizabeth and the new Duke of Edinburgh travelled to
Broadlands, in Hampshire, the home of the Duke’s uncle Lord
Mountbatten, for the first part of their honeymoon, followed by
time spent at Birkhall on the Balmoral estate.
King George wrote to his daughter on the night of her
wedding: “I was so proud and thrilled at having you so close
to me on our long walk in Westminster Abbey. But when
I handed your hand to the Archbishop, I felt I had lost
something very precious. You were so calm and composed
during the service and said your words with such conviction,
that I knew everything was all right.”
Echoing his words, it certainly has been “all right” and,
since that magical day in 1947 the couple have, in addition to
undertaking numerous royal duties, tours and engagements,
become loving parents, grandparents and great-grandparents.
Just as they have guided their own family they have served the
nation and the Commonwealth through good times and bad.
We have much to thank them for.
The radiance of this remarkable royal couple, who
captivated the world all those years ago, continues to shine
brighter than ever and, as they celebrate their platinum
wedding anniversary, we send them our warmest and most
heartfelt congratulations.
ANGELINE WILCOX
THIS ENGLAND, Winter, 2017 23

Historic Cemeteries
In Paris we visit the Père Lachaise
to pay homage to our dead heroes.
Prague has its Jewish Cemetery and
in Los Angeles there is the star-filled
Forest Lawns. And London has lots of
them, some more famous than others.
In the 19th century cemeteries were
the height of fashion. People not only
went to attend interments but used them
much as we use the park today. They
were created as places of peace and
beauty where people could sit or stroll.
Some of the tombs and monuments
were designed by well-known architects
— Sir Edwin Lutyens, Edward Barry,
George Godwin, Sir William Tite etc. —
and angels of all styles and designs seem
KENSAL GREEN
to reign supreme: elaborate weeping
angels of death, veiled angels, flying
angels and guardian angels. Then there
are Greek temples — Doric, Ionic and
Corinthian. And mausoleums in various
ornate styles.
The Victorians were fond of symbols
on their tombstones. Most are religious
but all have special meanings. Some of
the less obvious ones are: the butterfly
denoting the Resurrection, a crown (the
symbol of a Christian martyr), a horse
(strength, courage or the swiftness of
time). The rose is for purity, the shell is
for pilgrimage and most often seen on
children’s tombs is the innocent lamb.
And, of course, there are more personal
ones. Then there are the epitaphs, some
of which tell a story in themselves.
Strolling through some of London’s
cemeteries today and reading the names
on the tombstones and monuments
is like stepping back in history, with
people from all walks of life: soldiers
and sailors from wars going back to
Napoleon, politicians, doctors, scientists,
merchants, local notables, religious
figures from as far back as Cromwell,
and entertainers.
These cemeteries, unlike the new,
sterile, easy-to-mow headstones-andgrass
versions, were planned down to
the last flower and blade of grass to
produce calm centres for reflection.
Unfortunately, in some, nature has now
taken over but most seem also to be
nature reserves.
Kensal Green, founded in 1832,
was considered to be the best of its
kind. And, surprisingly, it has royal
connections. It also has its fair share
of mausoleums from Gothic through
Greek, Classical and even Egyptian.
Two of King George III’s children
are entombed here. It was Augustus,
Duke of Sussex and the sixth son, who
first chose to be buried at Kensal Green.
Princess Sophia, the youngest daughter,
also chose Kensal Green, wishing to
be entombed opposite her favourite
brother. She is the daughter who was
rumoured to have had an illegitimate
child. A third member of George III’s
family, his grandson, George, Duke of
Cambridge, is also entombed here.
Some well-known names to look
out for when strolling are Brunel (both
Isambard and his father Sir Marc
who designed the Thames Tunnel at
Rotherhithe), Wilkie Collins (novelist),
Mary Hogarth (Charles Dickens’ sisterin-law),
James Leigh Hunt (poet and
essayist), Joseph Manton (renowned
gunsmith), Charles Babbage (father
of computers), William Makepeace
Thackeray (novelist), Anthony Trollope
(novelist) and Major Walter Wingfield.
In 1874 the major invented a game called
“sphairistike”. We know it as lawn tennis.
One person you must look out for is
“James” Barry. She was a 19th-century
doctor who concealed her sex when
serving as an army surgeon. It was only
after her death it was discovered that she
was a woman.
Not all cemeteries are strictly
Victorian, which is when planning,
pomp and ostentation took over
from the previous higgledy-piggledy
overcrowding of the older ones.
Bunhill Fields, in the City of London,
is a prime example of the ancient. It
HIGHGATE
The many famous people
interred include Karl Marx
(1818-1883) and Mrs. Henry
Wood (1814-1887).
Tombs of George, Duke of Cambridge (1819-
1904), and Princess Sophia (1777-1848).
24 THIS ENGLAND, Winter, 2017

WEST NORWOOD
GOLDERS GREEN
The tombs of Sir Henry Tate (1819-1899), Lucy Gallup (1847-1883) of the American family famous
for its opinion polls, and memorials in various styles.
is the oldest cemetery, dating back to
about 1665. Its strange name is thought
to derive from the gruesome “Bonehill”.
The cramped churchyard is the last
resting place of several members of the
Cromwell family, Daniel Defoe (writer
and journalist), John Bunyan (writer
and preacher), William Blake (poet) and
George Fox (the founder of the Society
of Friends, Quakers). Unfortunately
his tombstone was removed in the 19th
century.
Highgate Cemetery has many wellknown
names but is probably most
famous for Karl Marx. It is also the last
resting place of many people from the
arts.
The writers include George Eliot,
John Galsworthy, Mrs. Henry Wood and
some of the Rossetti family: Gabriele
(father), William (son) and Christina
(daughter). Charles Dickens’ wife,
Catherine, and daughter Dora are also
here. Among other names to look out
for are artist Peter de Wint, Charles
Cruft (dog shows), William Foyle
(bookshops), Carl Rosa (opera), Patrick
Wymark (actor) and Philip Harben —
one of the original television chefs.
South of the River Thames is the
West Norwood Cemetery which began
in 1836 during the reign of William IV.
Some of its famous internees include
Arthur Anderson (founder of the P&O
Line), Isabella (Mrs.) Beeton, Thomas
Cubitt (who assisted Prince Albert with
the building of Osborne House), Paul
Reuter (founder of the press agency), Sir
Henry Doulton and his father John (who
founded the pottery manufacturer) and
Lawson Johnston. This is not a name that
springs readily to mind but his invention
is known around the world — Bovril.
Among others here are architect Sir
James Knowles who laid out Leicester
Square, Thomas Stoughton, founder
member of publishers Hodder and
Stoughton, and Sir Henry Tate — sugar
merchant and philanthropist, noted for
establishing the Tate Gallery. There
are mausoleums and monuments
galore as you stroll the paths, and some
particularly attractive angels.
Cremation didn’t become legal in
England until 1900 so Golders Green
Crematorium wasn’t founded until 1902.
Strictly speaking this shouldn’t be in an
article about cemeteries but as so many
well-known names are here, either on
plaques or urns, it has to be mentioned.
From the arts are Sir Philip Burne-
Jones (artist), Eric Coates (composer),
Kathleen Ferrier (contralto), Adeline
Genee-Isitt (ballerina), Elinor Glyn
(novelist), Rudyard Kipling (novelist
and poet), Benno Moiseiwitsch (pianist),
Ivor Novello (composer and actor),
Anna Pavlova (ballerina), Bram Stoker
(novelist) and Sir Ralph Vaughan
Williams (composer).
In addition there are Indian princes
and maharajahs and British politicians
— Neville Chamberlain and Hugh
Gaitskell. Representatives of the
medical profession include Alexander
Fleming, Sigmund Freud and Dr. Marie
Stopes.
There are too many cemeteries in
London to cover in one article but some
others you might like to see are:
Hampstead: Dennis Brain (musician),
Dame Gladys Cooper (actress), Pamela
Frankau (novelist), Kate Greenaway
(writer and illustrator), Joseph Lister
The Lutyens designed Philipson Mausoleum.
(surgeon), Marie Lloyd (music-hall
entertainer) and Fred Terry (actor and
theatrical manager).
Abney Park: General William Booth
(founder of the Salvation Army), his
wife Catherine and his son Bramwell.
Putney Vale: Peter Cheyney
(novelist), Sir Jacob Epstein (sculptor),
the Doherty brothers (tennis stars),
Alexander Kerensky (Prime Minister
of Russia immediately before the
Bolsheviks took over), and Sir Edwin
Saunders — dentist to Queen Victoria
and King Edward VII.
Most of the larger cemeteries have
an office near the entrance. If it is open
it is worth asking if they have a map
indicating important memorials.
BARBARA BOTHWELL
Further Information
londoncemeteries.co.uk
Kensal Green Cemetery, Harrow Road, London W10 4RA
Tel: 020 89690152 www.kensalgreencemetery.com
Bunhill Fields, 38 City Road, London EC1Y 2BG
Tel: 020 73744127 www.cityoflondon.gov.uk
Highgate Cemetery, Swain’s Lane, London N6 6PJ
Tel: 020 83401834 highgatecemetery.org
West Norwood Cemetery, Norwood Road, West Norwood, London SE27 9JU
Tel: 020 79267999 www.lambeth.gov.uk
Golders Green Crematorium, Hoop Lane, London NW11 7NL
Tel: 020 84552374 www.thelondoncremation.co.uk
THIS ENGLAND, Winter, 2017 25

Notes from a
Cottage Garden
by Rosemary Pettigrew
‘To Do’ List
Service the lawnmower
I always put off doing this but I have noticed puffs
of smoke coming out of the mower when it is fi rst
started so I think it needs some TLC.
One of the lessons of gardening is that things rarely
go to plan! Inspired by Sissinghurst, last winter I
was full of enthusiasm for creating a white garden
of my own. However, this has met with limited success. The
white roses I bought turned out to be pale pink most of the
time before eventually turning white. However, the white
tulips were superb — I planted the bulbs very close together
embedded in grit. The flowers contrasted beautifully against
the dark green of the surrounding box hedging and lasted
for many weeks. I then dug them all out and replanted with
white cosmos which looked pretty but lacked the sculptural
splendour of the tulips. The cosmos tended to get raggedy
looking and needed a lot of effort as the faded blooms had to
be deadheaded on a daily basis. The bees liked them though.
The problem with a white garden is that there are all
sorts of different whites which don’t always marry well with
each other. And then other colours tend to seep in — selfseeded
nigella, nasturtiums and borage looked so attractive I
couldn’t pull them up. I think you have to be ruthless to have
a completely white garden. Next year I will try to make it
mainly white with touches of pastel — so the nasturtiums will
definitely have to go!
PETER FRY
Gardens to Visit
Audley End House and Gardens, Saffron Walden, Essex CB11 4JF. A
Jacobean mansion set in magnifi cent grounds designed by Capability
Brown. Winter allows visitors to see the structure of the garden with its
evergreen shrubberies, cloud hedges and formal beds. In the parkland
beyond there are swathes of daffodils.
Dunham Massey Hall, Woodhouse Lane, Altrincham, Cheshire
WA14 4SJ. Opened in 2009, the superb Winter Garden is one of the
largest in the country. There are 7 acres carefully designed to provide
winter interest with shrubs, trees and evergreens all planted for scent,
colour and texture. Towering beeches and oaks are underplanted with
thousands of bulbs including snowdrops, cyclamen and iris.
Painswick Rococo Gardens,
Gloucester Road, Painswick,
Stroud, Gloucestershire
GL6 6TH. A theatrical
18th-century garden with
spectacular views of the
Cotswolds and justly famous
for its snowdrop displays.
Cut back hellebore leaves
Hellebores produce such large, leathery leaves that
they can easily engulf the fl owers. I cut the leaves
right back.
Make a new flower bed
There’s a really uneven patch in the lawn and this
winter I plan to dig it up and make it into a fl ower
bed — I saw a lovely mixture of lavender, alliums
and ornamental grasses recently and hope to try
out this combination.
Feed the lawn
The fl owerbeds have had a good mulch so now
it’s the time for the lawn. I did have one of those
special spreaders for the fertiliser but it gave such
an uneven fl ow that I ended up with patches of
different shades of green, yellow and brown —
depending on how much of the granules had been
deposited. I’m going to do it by hand this time.
Take rose cuttings
I have a lovely Blush Noisette rose that has clusters
of pink fl owers and a wonderful scent. It is so
well behaved with glossy, disease-resistant leaves
and two fl ushes of
fl owers that several
friends have asked
me if I could take
cuttings for them.
I’ve never done this
before but it seems
quite straightforward.
I need to cut a good
strong stem produced in the summer into lengths
of about 8-12 inches ensuring there is a bud at the
top and bottom of each one. Then all the leaves
except one at the top of each cutting need to go
before the bases are dipped in rooting compound.
I’ll stick all the cuttings round the edge of a
container of sand or compost, cover with a plastic
bag and put in the greenhouse. Simples!
26 THIS ENGLAND, Winter, 2017

Plant of the Season
Hamamelis
Aplant that really brightens
up the garden in winter
with the bright, spidery
fl owers glowing even in the
coldest conditions. These small
deciduous trees originate from
Asia, North America, Japan and
China and there are now many
sizes and colours available.
Commonly called witch hazel,
the name is believed to have
originated from the Old English
word ‘wice’ meaning bendable.
Another explanation is that as
the twigs have long been used
as water divining rods, the plant
may have been associated with witches and magic. The
plant is also called the Epiphany tree as it fl owers around
Epiphany (6th January).
Hamamelis virginiana is native to North America and
its leaves and bark have traditionally been used to make
skincare products to soothe skin problems such as eczema,
bruises and nappy rash. However, the usual variety found
in this country is Hamamelis mollis which has sulphuryellow
fl owers with a spicy
fragrance. There are a huge
range of cultivars available
including Hamemelis x
intermedia ‘Pallida’ which has
pale-yellow fl owers, ‘Orange
Peel’ is marmalade coloured,
‘Firecracker’ is a striking red
and ‘Amethyst’ is purple.
Plant in the autumn or
winter in sun or dappled
shade on a free draining site
or in a container. Although
woodland plants, they will
fl ower better in a sunny
position. The plants prefer
acid soils but can tolerate most conditions except chalk
as long as plenty of organic matter is incorporated. Don’t
plant them too deep as they are shallow rooted, and keep
well watered in summer so they don’t dry out. Mulch
deeply in winter, ensuring that the mulch doesn’t touch the
trunk and wrap up young plants in fl eece to protect them
from frost. If your hamamelis grows too large they can be
pruned after fl owering.
DAVID ZUBRASKI/ALAMY STOCK PHOTO
Making a Mountain out of a Molehill
Thanks to readers, I now have some more
ideas to try in my ongoing battles with
moles. Don Gillespie from Durban, South
Africa advises soaking used, dried teabags
in a strong solution of garlic paste
and water, then inserting several tea bags
into the ends of the tunnels making sure
that the earth is piled up over them to
eliminate air pockets. Don tells me that this
method worked in his garden and he has
had no trouble since. Audrey Chapman of
Darlington uses dog poo instead but as I
don’t have a dog this isn’t going to work!
Other readers have suggested inserting
battery-powered and solar-powered stakes
into the runs. These make a buzzing noise
that apparently the mole can’t stand. Yet
another solution is a mole smoker that sends
castor-oil fumes down the mole tunnels.
That should make them run! Alternatively I
could take the online advice of the
RSPCA who look on the bright side
of having moles in the garden as
it increases soil aeration.
Regular readers will
know that I am very
fond of hedgehogs and
have a resident family
in the garden. So I was
pleased to receive a
newsletter from the
Hedgehog Preservation
Society — whose Patron is
Sir Ken Dodd OBE. It’s full
of interesting information including the announcement that RHS Harlow
Carr has offi cially opened a Hedgehog Street Garden to show visitors that no
matter what your style of
gardening you can still be
hedgehog friendly.
The Society
also produces
a Hogalogue
with lots of hedgehoggy
goodies ideal for Christmas.
For more details see www.
britishhedgehogs.org.uk
I would be delighted to receive your comments, questions and advice, so
please e-mail me at rosemary.pettigrew@thisengland.co.uk or write to our
editorial offi ce: This England, The Lypiatts, Lansdown Road, Cheltenham,
Gloucestershire GL50 2JA.
© RHS
© RHS
THIS ENGLAND, Winter, 2017 27

The entrance to All Souls’.
Brasenose College, Oxford. PEARL BUCKNALL PEARL BUCKNALL Oxford’s Sheldonian Theatre. JOHN HUSBAND
The Universities of Oxford and Cambridge rank
alongside the military Academy of Sandhurst, the MCC
(Marylebone Cricket Club), Eton College, the House
of Lords and the Garter Ceremony as the epitome of British
institutions, customs and elitism. These two universities have
between them a host of decidedly unusual traditions that have
persisted through the centuries.
Oxford’s most mysterious
Customs and
Curiosities of
Oxford and Cambridge
college is All Souls’, which
is closed to undergraduates
and reserved exclusively for
the crème de la crème of
the university community.
Its members are all fellows.
Quite different from its august
image and the presence of so many members of the academic
elite is a custom called the Mallard Song, a strange little ditty
that’s sung once a century (the next one is in 2101) at an even
stranger ceremony held in the college. The fellows, all leading
academics, are said to process around All Souls’ College
carrying flaming torches. At the front of this odd procession
is someone dressed as the “Lord Mallard”, carried in a chair,
who is led by someone carrying a wooden duck tied to a pole
(they used to use a dead duck). Apparently it dates back to the
building of the college in 1437 when a giant mallard is said to
have flown away from the college’s foundations.
Over at Cambridge, Trinity College has its famous “Great
Court Run”. It forms a central scene in the 1981 film Chariots
of Fire directed by David Puttnam. Students try to run around
the Great Court within the time it takes for the college
clock to strike the hour of 12, including the preparatory
chiming of the four quarters and the two sets of 12. The
course is approximately 400 yards long. Depending upon how
it is wound up, the clock takes between about 43 and 44½
seconds. It is traditional for athletically inclined members of
Trinity to attempt the run every year at noon on the day of
the Matriculation Dinner. It
helps that the clock strikes
each hour twice!
Meanwhile back at Oxford
there is the wonderful event
called May Morning that
takes place every year on 1st
May. People gather at 6am
on Magdalen Bridge to hear
choristers sing madrigals at the top of Magdalen College Tower.
Its origins are not clear, but scholars suggest it dates back to
the building of the tower. It has remained the standard practice
since the 17th century, when the carol “Hymnus Eucharisticus”
was written at the college, thus preserving its enduring appeal.
Over the years, Lincoln College and Brasenose College in
Oxford have enjoyed a fierce rivalry. During an age-old town
versus gown riot, an angry mob of city folk was chasing two
students through the town: one from Lincoln, and one from
Brasenose. Lincoln opened its doors to offer refuge to its
own student but refused to help the Brasenose man, who was
subsequently killed by the mob. At lunchtime on Ascension
Day, an inter-connecting door between the two colleges is
opened for five minutes. It is the only time that it is unlocked
during the year, and Brasenose students are served a pint of
The Great Court, Trinity College, Cambridge.
JOHN D. BELDOM
Magdalen College and the River
Cherwell in Oxford. KEN MARSHALL
28 THIS ENGLAND, Winter, 2017 2016

eer courtesy of Lincoln, as a form of apology for
refusing to help their student in the past.
Also on Ascension Day in Oxford at Lincoln
College nine senior students go up to the roof of
the front quad and hurl down hot pennies that were
heated in the oven to children from local schools
waiting below. In the past, the coins were red hot
beforehand, and were supposed to be a lesson in
discouraging greed. Thankfully these days children
are allowed to pick up the pennies to boost their
pocket money!
Over at Cambridge the fellows of St. John’s
College are the only people outside the Royal
Family legally allowed to eat unmarked mute
swans. Swan traps were originally built into the
walls of the college alongside the river, but these
are no longer used. The Crown (the British
monarch) retains the right to ownership of all unmarked
mute swans in open water, but the Queen only exercises
her ownership on certain stretches of the Thames and its
surrounding tributaries. This ownership is shared with the
Vintners’ and Dyers’ Companies, who were granted rights of
ownership by the Crown in the 15th century, and was extended
to the college via ancient Royalist ties. Such is how some dons
feast themselves!
As for student drinking, “Pennying” is one
of the most bizarre and carefully thought out
drinking games on record. Invented at Oxford
by both the dons and students during the 14th
century, the aim of the game was to slip a penny
into someone’s drink without their noticing.
If you succeed, the person is said to have been
“pennied” and has to down their drink in one. Once
“pennied”, the pennier is asked what the date on
the coin is. If they can’t answer correctly, they too
have to down their drink. If you penny a drink that
has already been pennied, you have to down the drink
you pennied. A cunning way of getting a free drink!
On the subject of free drinks, in the 1960s a law student,
when revising for his final exams, discovered a statute that
required the university to supply him, daily and free of
charge, with two or three pints of ale in the months prior to
his exams. The university governors acquiesced, and he was
duly given two pints of beer a day. On the day of the exams,
as he was about to enter the exam hall, he was stopped by the
New Court, St. John’s College, Cambridge.
JEFFERY WHITELAW
invigilators and asked to write out a cheque for the cost of the
beer, because he was not wearing a sword (a serious offence in
the 15th century when the by-law was drafted).
When it comes to exams, the two universities even have
their own specialised vocabulary. At Oxford, your “battles”
(Tudor-Stuart) were (and still are) your college bills; if you
didn’t get to an exam you “ploughed” (1853) it; and academic
“nudity” was the appearance in public without a cap or gown.
At Cambridge, in Victorian times, a “brute” was one who
had not matriculated and a “sophister” (1574) was an
undergraduate in his second or third year. In both
places a “whiffler” (c.1785) was one who examined
candidates for degrees.
And then for qualifications there is “sub fusc”.
It is compulsory dress at certain events in Oxford,
so if you ever see students walking around in long
gowns, that’s sub fusc. It’s actually very complicated,
as the dress varies quite a bit depending on what degree you
are taking (i.e. BA, MA etc.), as well as whether you have
a scholarship. The essentials are black suit, white shirt and
white bow tie for men, and women
must wear black skirt, black tie
and white shirt, although as of
2012 at Oxford, men and women
can wear either gender’s sub fusc.
Gowns are of differing lengths
with differing silk trims according
to their status. “Commoners” for
The Bodleian Library in Oxford whose main entrance (left) is known as
the Tower of the Five Orders because it is ornamented with the columns
of each of the five orders of classical architecture: Tuscan, Doric, Ionic,
Corinthian and Composite.
ANDRIA MASSEY
Right: The characteristic robe of a Doctor of Philosophy.
THIS ENGLAND, Winter, 2017 2016 29

‘CUSTOMS AND CURIOSITIES OF OXFORD AND CAMBRIDGE’ (continued)
Students on Graduation Day in Cambridge and
(right) a view of All Souls’ College, Oxford.
ANDRIA MASSEY
instance, i.e. basically everyone without a scholarship, wear a
shorter gown, D. Phil graduates wear a scarlet robe.
Examinations are the culmination of many months of
studying and where better than in the glorious libraries.
When Oxford students are issued with a card for the Bodleian
Library they are initiated into a formal admission ceremony,
where they have to pledge as follows: “I hereby undertake not
to remove from the library, nor to mark, deface, or injure in
any way, any volume, document or other object belonging to it
or in its custody; not to bring into the library, or kindle therein,
any fire or flame, and not to smoke in the library;
and I promise to obey all rules of the library.”
Before the advent of railways, the United
Kingdom operated on a number of local times.
Oxford time was five minutes later than Greenwich. A lot
of university lectures still start at five minutes past the hour,
and Christ Church College’s Tom Tower still sounds 101
times every night at 9.05pm (rung 101 times to celebrate the
founding scholars of the college). Time, it would seem, can
stand still!
ADAM JACOT DE BOINOD
Adam Jacot de Boinod is the author of The Meaning of Tingo and
Other Extraordinary Words from around the World, published by
Penguin Books.
GEORGE MITCHELL
ADINA TOVY
Christopher Wren’s Tom Tower (see also page 73 in this issue), the Mathematical
Bridge at Queens’ College Cambridge, punting on the Cherwell in Oxford.
PEARL BUCKNALL
DENIS KENNEDY
30 THIS ENGLAND, Winter, 2017 2016

A Winter’s Day
in England
Centuries ago the sunken lane was an army route and
has been ground so deep over time by the passage of
tramping feet and carts that the roots of the oldest oaks
and chestnut trees, embedded in the banks, are exposed to the
air. A tangled hedgerow runs along the top of each high bank,
and the fern-brushed slopes are pitted with the holes of rabbits.
At dawn on this January morning the lane is still and silent.
After days of rain the wind changed to the north and brought
a sudden front of cold. In the stillness of the night a frost crept
in and took everything firmly within its iron grip. All that had
been heavy with dew has now been transformed into crystal.
Upon the hedgerows where the last stray hips and haws cling
with tenacity, the frost hangs its lace. Beneath the foliage the
earth is solid to the touch, and even the crumbling clay path
worn by the badger who nightly goes to and from his burrow
has been set into stone.
Shortly after daybreak a cock pheasant struts leisurely along
the frost-bound track, his long elegant tail almost touching the
ice. He spent the night roosting in the upper branches of a fir
in the valley. Now he steps out boldly, a warm splash of russet
and green upon the frost-white canvas. If he survives until early
spring he will pair and might be seen accompanying several
female pheasants at one time. Pheasants love to nest beneath the
hedges, or in a copse or concealed cover. The foraging pheasant
will find nourishment in seeds, berries, insects, worms and fruit,
but today the frosty banks of the lane yield relatively little.
An elderly hare is next along the lane. These creatures seem
to know that the early morning is a quiet time when they are
unlikely to encounter humans. The hare lopes leisurely along,
his padded feet making a soft brushing sound on the ice. He is
an elderly bachelor, his breeding days long since gone. There
are grey hairs around his mouth and behind his ears and his fur
coat has lost its youthful softness and grown coarse. He spent
the night in his form — a shallow nest among the long grass
beside the ditch. He moves stiffly up the slope, pausing every
now and then to stop and listen. Wild hares live to around four
years. This one still manages to find food, but is no longer as
swift as in his former days, so is more at risk from predators.
This winter will likely be his last.
When the sun rises shortly after eight o’ clock the first
amber rays illuminate the tops of the trees along the banks.
When the boy from the farm cycles up the lane to get to the
village school he finds it quiet and deserted. At the road’s
edge, largely concealed by grasses, a black mole is trying to
burrow its way into the bank. The post van is the next vehicle
to come along, leaving two black tyre tracks as it passes. It is
regarded with caution by a rabbit in the mouth of her burrow.
Her nose and whiskers twitch to test whether it is safe to
venture outside.
When the morning sun spills over the valley sides it fills the
silver tunnel with light. It glints upon the eye of a song thrush
that sits in the branches of an ivy-clad oak and finds diamonds
in drops of melting crystal that cling to the ivy leaves. The
thrush has perched with ruffled feathers all morning, but in
the warmth of the sun she shakes out her wings and begins to
preen. Of all garden birds thrushes can suffer the most during
long spells of cold weather. The tell-tale sign of a hungry thrush
is a sudden ability to overcome its timidity and venture closer
to garden bird feeding stations. In the wild, little collections of
empty snail shells dotted around a large stone that the thrush
uses as an anvil denotes the place where it feeds. But in cold
weather snails and worms become difficult to find. This thrush
is fortunate to have found a friend in the old lady who lives
at the lodge at the end of the driveway to the manor. Each
morning and evening he will fly to her cottage garden and avail
himself of the large scattering of lard-covered breadcrumbs
that she takes care to leave for the birds.
For the rest of the day there is little wildlife activity in the
lane. Just before dusk a blackbird takes to the stage in an oak
tree and releases a delicious sequence of liquid sounds across
the valley. A few of his perfectly sung notes reach the ears of
the farm boy who rushes down the lane on his bike returning
from school.
The sun sets quickly and is gone from the lane well before
four o’ clock. As dusk falls the rabbits leave their burrows and
scramble up the banks to reach the crop fields beyond where,
amongst the small green shoots, last night’s ice still remains.
Here they will graze the grass at the field edges and play until
night falls. Within the banks of the lane the temperature drops,
the watery mud at the edges begins to glaze over, and the cold
grip of the frost takes hold once more. REBECCA WELSHMAN
Photograph: JIM HELLIER
THIS ENGLAND, Winter, 2017 31

I am a dog known rather well:
I guard the house but how that came
To be my whim I cannot tell.
With a leap and a heart elate I go
At the end of an hour’s expectancy
To take a walk of a mile or so
With the folk I let live here with me.
Along the path, amid the grass
I sniff, and find out rarest smells
For rolling over as I pass
The open fields toward the dells.
No doubt I shall always cross this sill,
And turn the corner, and stand steady,
Gazing back for my Mistress till
She reaches where I have run already,
Are you haunted by a few lines from a poem and want help in finding the rest of the words?
Do you have a favourite verse you’d like to share with us? Or have you been writing poetry
for years and would like others to read your work? If the answer is “Yes” to any of these
questions please write to me, Susan Kelleher, at This England, The Lypiatts, Lansdown Road,
Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, GL50 2JA, or email editor@thisengland.co.uk
And that this meadow with its brook
And bulrush, even as it appears
As I plunge by with hasty look,
Will stay the same a thousand years.
Thus “Wessex”. But a dubious ray
At times informs his steadfast eye,
Just for a trice, as though to say,
“Yet, will this pass, and pass shall I?”
Ido get numerous letters asking if I can trace
half-remembered poetry, and it’s always a
great pleasure when I can help. However, I
usually have to pass the request on to readers
in the hope they can identify the poem. And
they often do! In the last issue a poem about
a dog called Spot was being sought and Mary
French from Chelmsford, Essex, was quick
to respond. She found this poem by Rodney
Bennett and wonders if it is the right one.
MY DOG SPOT
I have a white dog
Whose name is Spot,
And he’s sometimes white
And he’s sometimes not.
But whether he’s white
Or whether he’s not,
There’s a patch on his ear
That makes him Spot.
dog poems. It was written by Thomas Hardy
(1840–1928) about his much-loved wirehaired
terrier Wessex who was a terror as
well as a terrier! He had a habit of jumping
onto the dining table when guests were trying
to enjoy their dinner, and he was known to
take a bite or two at passing ankles. However,
his character and devotion far outweighed
these minor blemishes and Hardy adored
him. When Wessex died on 27th December
1926 Hardy wrote in his diary: “Wx sleeps
outside the house for the first time for 13
years.” Hardy wrote this poem about Wessex
in 1924.
Margaret Hilton of Alveston,
Gloucestershire, was searching for a
poem that began “Give me a good digestion
Lord”. This was quickly recognised as the
start of an anonymous ancient prayer that
was reputed to have been found in Chester
Cathedral.
Give me a good digestion, Lord, and also
something to digest;
Give me a healthy body, Lord, with sense
to keep it at its best.
Tongue lolling in the heat, this golden retriever appears lost in thought — just like the dog Spot
described in the poem on this page.
TOM WESTON
He has a tongue
That is long and pink,
And he lolls it out
When he wants to think.
He seems to think most
When the weather is hot.
He’s a wise sort of dog,
Is my dog, Spot.
He likes a bone,
And he likes a ball,
But he doesn’t care
For a cat at all.
He waggles his tail
And he knows what’s what.
So I’m glad that he’s my dog,
My dog, Spot.
Although he couldn’t find a poem about
a dog called Spot, James Carswell from
Manchester sent me one of his favourite
32 THIS ENGLAND, Winter, 2017

First the Mayor called the meeting to
order
And said they’d a lot to get through,
So if they didn’t mind, to get off on’t right
lines,
He’d like to put his point of view.
He thought they might go for a sort of
tableau
Wi’ people standing about
All in fancy dress, and a Loyal Address
Which he, of course, would read out.
“Nay, nay”, said Fred Day, “That’s not
the way,
We could make the whole town look nice.
In my shop I’ve got flags and bunting and
banners —
And all at a very good price.”
“Or....”, said Mrs. Hare, the patissiere,
“Why don’t we just have a party?
Give the children a treat, with plenty to eat:
If you like I could feed them right hearty.
“I’d give each child a drink, and some jelly
I think,
And a sandwich with lovely fresh bread;
For each child I’d bake a small fancy cake —
And all for just £5 a head.”
A dusting of snow ices the ancient roofs of Chester Cathedral. Once an abbey and with a history
spanning 1,000 years many prayers have been said here but one in particular has been requested
by a reader.
CLINT HEACOCK
Give me a healthy mind, Good Lord,
To keep the good and pure in sight;
Which seeing sin is not appalled,
But finds a way to set it right.
Give me a mind which is not bored,
That does not whimper, whine or sigh;
Don’t let me worry over much
About the fussy thing called ‘I’.
Give me a sense of humour, Lord,
Give me the grace to see a joke;
To get some happiness from life,
And pass it on to other folk.
Thank you once again for the many
poems that you send in to me. I never
cease being amazed by the literary abilities
of This England readers. Unfortunately,
space limitations mean I only have
the chance to publish a few in each issue
— and many of these have been on
file for years as you can tell from this
poem, sent in to me by Grace Smith of
Clacton-on-Sea, Essex. Written by her
husband Gordon, it is a humorous poem
about discussions on how to celebrate the
Queen’s Jubilee.
THE JUBILEE
At the Town Hall they convened a meeting
And people were let in for free
To consider a suitable function
To mark the Queen’s Jubilee.
In the chair was the Mayor, the Vicar was
there,
And most of the councillors too;
There were several who came ’cos they’d
summat to say
And a few ‘cos they’d nowt else to do.
Although the bracken is browning and the air
is sharp with frost, a walk through Twigmoor
Woods, Scunthorpe, Lincolnshire, on a crisp
November morning is a delight. The month is
portrayed in a poem written by a reader, see
this page.
JOHN F. WHITAKER
“FIVE POUND?” cried John Phipps,
“Why my Fish and Chip
Shop’ll charge you not five pound
but three.
They’ll get chips on a platter, fresh cod in
batter,
Mushy peas, and a nice cuppa tea.”
“Now that’s quite enough”, t’Vicar cried in
a huff,
“We’re supposed to be planning a tribute;
But you’re all on about what you can get out
Instead of what you can contribute...
“I therefore propose that this meeting be
closed
And we go home in quiet contemplation;
And while on the way you may care to pray
For the Queen of so selfish a nation.”
So the meeting broke up in confusion
And nothing was settled just then,
And I never did hear the conclusion;
Of what was done, who did, and when.
And we end on rather a chilly note —
David Fleming of Barnhill, Dundee,
has sent in poem entitled “November” that
is evocative enough to make you put on the
central heating!
Stone-built villas, as mysterious as forgotten
symphonies,
Wait in damp gardens which hold the rotting
remains of summer’s splendour.
Leaves scurry in the streets like hungry
crowds with rumours of bread;
Forgotten extras of a silent film.
The wind hurries from the sea,
A tossing sheet of grey,
And rain patters through this tired, lost year
As we await celebrations
And the coming of snow.
THIS ENGLAND, Winter, 2017 33

Trams into Town
All aboard for a clanging, screeching,
blue-and-cream coloured trip down memory lane!
Igrew up in Sheffield — the Yorkshire steel city — in one
of the leafy north-west suburbs called Crookes. We didn’t
have a car until I was 10 years old: there was no need for
one, as any journeys into town for shopping or to catch a train
could be made by public transport. And for the first seven
years of my life that meant . . . a tram!
And what joyous transport that was: a heady combination
of noise, smells and colour that still evokes a nostalgic
response today. I was born at a time when most major cities
had scrapped their trams. London, Birmingham, Manchester,
Newcastle, Liverpool and Bristol had all lost or were about to
lose their tramway systems by the late 1950s. In March 1950
there were 4,600 trams operating in the United Kingdom, in
March 1960 there were just 621. Sixty of these were in Sheffield
— the last major English city to hang on to its trams, and I was
lucky enough to witness the final years of operation.
The first trams to travel on Sheffield streets were pulled
by horses between 1873 and 1896 over a total route of just
9½ miles. They were painted in different colours allegedly to
allow passengers who couldn’t read to identify the route and
destinations by the colour of the tram. Sheffield City Council
took over the tramway system from July 1896 and gradually
expanded and modernised the
system by introducing first
single-deck and then doubledeck
electric trams using the
overhead current collection
system. The system was
all-electric by 1902 with
current from a purpose-built
power station on the banks
of the River Don with feeder
cables stretching to the
extremities of the 48 miles of
routes.
Someone has calculated
that over its entire lifespan
Sheffield Corporation
Tramways (SCT) have
operated 884 trams, and at
its peak in about 1940 it had
440 in service. These were
Above: The National Tramway Museum at Crich, including one of the
volunteers at the controls of tram 510.
Below: Passengers waiting for a tram opposite the Town Hall had to
gather in a small painted rectangle in the middle of the road.
kept in seven depots (tram sheds) dotted around the city. They
had a policy of continually introducing new designs of tram so
that each individual “car” might have a working life of around
25 years compared with, say, 30-40 years in other city tram
systems. It was a progressive and forward-thinking policy that
earned SCT much acclaim.
The pinnacle of this achievement came in the early 1950s
when it introduced a tram that was considered to be the
pinnacle of tram design in the United Kingdom. They were
called “Roberts” cars and 35 of them (numbered 501 to 536)
were built by Charles Roberts & Co. in Wakefield. Not only
did they look modern and stylish, they were revolutionary
in their design. Each car had folding doors at the ends, and
both vacuum and electric brakes to stop them. The driver had
a seat to sit on in an enclosed cab and the saloon seats were
sumptuously upholstered. There were modern electric lights
in both upper and lower saloons (fluorescent lights in the
prototype car 501), and the upper deck even had skylights.
Underneath was a combination of rubber and leaf springs
for a smoother ride. Driven by two powerful electric motors
they were a sensation when they first roamed the streets of
Sheffield. “It is doubtful whether there had ever been a more
comfortable public service
vehicle on a highway
anywhere in Britain”, wrote
Kenneth Gandy in Sheffield
Corporation Tramways
(1985).
Not only that, they were
painted in a colour scheme
that made public transport
in Sheffield stand out from
all the shades of blue,
green and red found in
other large cities. Sheffield
initially painted their trams
in an eye-catching cream
and Prussian blue livery
with gold-leaf lining. Early
trams tended towards more
blue than cream, but this
was revised after 1935 to

ecome more cream with four narrow and lighter, azure blue
bands. The Roberts cars had just three blue bands and a cream
roof which made them the brightest of all. They looked sleek,
stylish and modern and they were the tram I secretly wished
would come round the corner when standing at a tram stop as
a small boy.
I made many trips on the top deck of Roberts trams, not
just from home into the city, but out again on another line
to exciting places like Millhouses Park where it was possible
to paddle in the River Sheaf while watching passing steam
trains on the way into and out of Sheffield Midland station.
There was a turning circle here for the trams which meant
the conductor didn’t have to go through the unpredictable
process of turning the trolley round with a long bamboo cane
and reattaching it to the overhead wire. At other termini SCT
installed what are know as “reversers” on the overhead wires.
This was a clever piece of engineering that automatically
turned the trolley around when the tram set off the from the
terminus in the opposite direction — without having to test the
conductor’s hand/eye coordination!
The house where we lived for the first 10 years of my life
was almost equidistant between two tram routes. We could
BERNARD METTAM
walk up a steep hill to
the Crookes route to the
stop at the highest point
the trams ever got to
in the city — 720ft. Or
we could walk down a
steep hill to catch a tram
at the Commonside
stop on the Walkley
route. It really wasn’t a
difficult choice to walk
down the hill to catch a
Walkley tram into town
and a Crookes tram
back. (SCT trams never
showed route numbers,
only the end destination
was used.)
A short walk from
our house in Crookes
was Pickmere Road,
and there lay an incongruous cathedral of a building with six
sets of massive double hangar-like doors. This was the 1919
Crookes tram depot and behind those gigantic portals lay 11
“roads” with inspection pits. My father and I often used to
make the short trip to the depot to watch the procession of
trams returning to their base after the evening rush hour on
summer evenings. One by one they would disappear behind
the green doors accompanied by the squeal of metal against
metal as the wheels made the incredibly tight turn into the
shed. It was closed in May 1957 and later demolished to be
replaced by a Roman Catholic church.
BERNARD METTAM
BERNARD METTAM
BERNARD METTAM
Various Sheffield scenes including a snowy day at the Wicker
“arches”, a bridge built in 1848 that is now a listed building.
Above: The conductor of tram 510 reattaches the trolley to the
overhead wire with a bamboo pole.
SHEFFIELDHISTORY.CO.UK

‘TRAMS INTO TOWN’ (continued)
Left: The conductor on the upper deck of tram 510 at the National Tramway Museum.
Above: The magnificent proportions of Crookes tram depot are seen to good effect in this 1957
view.
BERNARD METTAM
You always entered a tram on the rear platform — away
from the driver, or motorman as they were officially called.
The rear platform gave access to stairs to the upper deck.
Once up there I recall the thick fug of tobacco smoke and
the interesting shades of yellow and brown of the nicotinestained
roof, together with notices like “Spitting Prohibited”.
Conductors or conductresses, always in a smart uniform, wore
two leather belts on opposite shoulders that crossed on their
chest. One held a leather satchel of coins, the other held the
ticket machine. Fares into town were something like 2d for a
child.
Depending on what model of tram you were in your journey
could be an exciting and sensory experience: the smell of
tobacco and leather seats upstairs and the whine of the electric
motors working hard downstairs; tight corners (of which there
are many in Sheffield) had the wheel flanges squealing against
the rails and throughout the whole journey the sound of brake
ratchets being applied and released; the click of the controller
handle accelerating or slowing the tram, and sometimes the
foot pedal that released sand onto a greasy rail was stamped
on. Couple all that with conductors shouting “Fares please!”,
and a tram journey was what might be described as a feast for
the senses!
My favourite seat in the tram was always in what I called the
“bay window” — the large curved end of the upper deck above
the driver. It was a semi-circular seat holding, I would guess,
about six passengers, that gave a panoramic view of the road
ahead if you knelt on the seat (which I did!) and faced forward
Despite torrential rain, on
the night of 8th October 1960
crowds lined the route to see a
procession marking the end of
an era.
JOHN ROTHERA
rather than back into the saloon. This driver’s-eye-view gave a
good idea of what a difficult job it was driving a tram through
busy city streets with traffic weaving around it on both sides,
and how tight the clearances were on some routes. Out of the
city centre the trams sometimes ran on reserved track where
they were completely separated from the normal traffic, either
in the middle of the road or to one side, and could really put
on an impressive turn of speed.
As I grew older I began to pay closer attention to the trams
on which I travelled. In the city I noticed that there were fewer
and fewer trams plying the streets, and the destination blinds
were showing fewer and fewer destinations. Something was
clearly happening to Sheffield’s trams.
I didn’t know it then, but it was the beginning of the end
for my childhood fascination. Route by route and year by year
the trams were being replaced by the more flexible motor bus
which didn’t require the extensive and costly overhead and
street-level infrastructure and didn’t bring the whole system
to a halt if one broke down in the wrong place. The motor car
and HGVs were also beginning to make their presence felt
in the city. The rails on the redundant routes were often just
covered over with tarmac, and still continue to reappear at
odd intervals today when a new or remodelled road scheme
is undertaken — a poignant hidden history of the original
Sheffield trams.
The Walkley and Crookes routes succumbed to the 95 and
52 bus routes several years before the final day which was
scheduled for 8th October 1960. This meant that, sadly, the life
of the last few of the Roberts trams was as little as eight years.
When the fateful day arrived it was a thoroughly miserable
night, cold and wet, but that didn’t stop what seemed like most
of the population of Sheffield turning out in the driving rain to
watch the final procession of trams from the remaining western
terminus through the city centre to the tram depot at Tinsley in
the east end.
My father and I managed to find shelter in one of the
covered tram stops in the centre as the procession of 15 trams,
including a couple of Roberts cars in a specially painted livery
depicting Sheffield’s tram designs over the years, passed by.
Number 513 had the words “Sheffield Tramways 1873-1960”
on its end panels, and the one at the very end (510) carried the
famous “Sheffield’s Last Tram” inscription. In between were
a mixture of trams that were running normal services the day
before, an illuminated tram, and a restored vintage tram. After

A penny that had
been flattened
by one of the
last trams
was a popular
souvenir.
SHEFFIELDHISTORY.CO.UK
Above: 1st October 1960, and only a week to go until Sheffield Roberts tram 510 says farewell
to the city.
BERNARD METTAM
Right: Ex-Sheffield tram 74 from 1900 emerging from the depot at Crich.
Below: Tramway signs at Crich and a souvenir brochure commemorating Sheffield’s last trams.
the cavalcade had passed we trudged back to the bus stop for a
despondent, and wet, trip home by bus.
Most of Sheffield’s tram fleet that still existed on 8th
October 1960 was scrapped — usually by the scrap dealer
Thomas Ward that was conveniently situated opposite the
Tinsley depot. Local folklore suggests that as little as £40 was
paid for each tram — which included 536, the eight-year-old
Roberts car and the last double-decker tram to be built in the
United Kingdom.
What an appalling end for some of the finest trams ever
to run on British streets. However, I’m pleased to report
that several trams from a fleet that once numbered over
400 have been saved from the scrap dealer’s torch and have
been preserved. The National Tramway Museum at Crich
in Derbyshire (“Tramway Village”) has eight examples of
Sheffield trams in its collection, including a horse-drawn
tram (15) from 1874, and two more recent designs: 189 from
1934 and 264 from 1937 — all three of which are on static
display. But for the real thrill of a ride on a tram, Roberts
car 510 (“The Last Tram”) and 74 from 1900 are operational
and take their turn in the rota of working trams. Tram 510
has now spent longer running up and down the mile of track
at Crich than it did in the streets of Sheffield. The North of
England Open Air Museum
at Beamish has two working
Sheffield trams: 264 is a 1907
design and 513 is the second
Roberts car in preservation
— although this is currently
on loan to the East Anglia
Transport Museum.
If you have never
experienced the unique
sensation of a ride on an
original electric tram, or if
you spent your working life
doing nothing else because
a tram took you to and from
your work, then a visit to the
Tramway Village is certainly
almost compulsory if you ever
find yourself in the middle of Derbyshire with a day to spare.
You buy your tram ticket with an old penny (1d) given to you
at the entrance which gives you unlimited travel all day on as
many of the trams working that day as you can manage. Smell
the varnish, paint and upholstery inside the cars, watch the
driver’s skilful control with both hands and feet, listen to the
symphony of squeals, whines and bells from the magnificently
presented trams returned to their former glory, and if that isn’t
enough you can also see how a trolley “reverser” works!
It was only on my last visit to the museum that Roberts
car 510 was actually in service. I’d seen it in the tram sheds at
Crich many times before undergoing maintenance, but this
time I could climb aboard and relive the sights and sounds
of my youth. It’s been carefully and beautifully restored; the
driver and conductor on the day I visited were friendly, the
seat backs were reversed at the terminus in the same manner
that fascinated me nearly 60 years ago, and yes, I couldn’t
resist sitting in the bay window upstairs for an all-too-short
journey back to my childhood. CHRISTOPHER NICHOLSON
Crich Tramway Village,
The National Tramway Museum,
Crich, nr. Matlock,
Derbyshire DE4 5DP
Tel: 01773 854321
www.tramway.co.uk
Further Information
North of England Open Air
Museum, Beamish,
County Durham DH9 0RG
Tel: 0191 3704000
www.beamish.org.uk
East Anglia Transport Museum,
Chapel Road,
Carlton Colville, Lowestoft,
Suffolk NR33 8BL
Tel: 01502 518459
eatransportmuseum.co.uk

The man who keeps a watchful
eye on the heart of the Nation
It is exactly 200 years since the first bicycle
appeared, after its inventor, Karl Drais of
Mannheim in Germany, witnessed a young
girl gliding gracefully across the ice on her
skates. Pedals, however, were not invented
until later. This is a replica of the original.
STOP SMART METERS
Did you know that the vast majority
of people who agreed to a smart
meter found their bills increased?
Meters also leave customers open to
internet hackers and at the mercy of
their energy supplier via remote
control. In addition there are serious
associated health concerns. For
further detailed information log in to:
http://stopsmartmeters.org.uk
TWO SHORT PHRASES
Irecently received an email
thanking me for acknowledging
a book sent in for review but was
amazed to be told I was the only
editor who could be guaranteed to
respond to a message. Have we
really reached the stage where it is
acceptable to ignore someone doing
us a favour? I was brought up to
believe that two short phrases are the
most important of all — “please” and
“thank you”.
FAMILY ASSOCIATIONS
The developed world is in great
danger as the family unit is
denigrated by the pseudo liberal elite
and the birth rate has dropped so low
there will soon be too few people in
work to provide for those who are
retired, at least in the traditional
indigenous population.
Since the Abortion Act was passed
in 1967 more than nine million babies
have been slaughtered in the UK,
sacrificed on the altar of sexual freedom
and women’s rights which has fed
a voracious spirit of death which is
increasingly asserting control over the
nation.
I commend the following pro-family
international organisations, all of which
campaign responsibly via the internet.
They need and deserve our support:
www.careforthefamily.org.uk
www.capuk.org (Christians Against
Poverty with a strong family base)
www.safefamiliesforchildren.com
www.marchforlife.co.uk (UK events)
http://marchforlife.org
http://vfjuk.org.uk (Voice for Justice)
www.citizengo.org (campaigning
petitions along Christian lines)
www.aul.org
www.afa.net
www.lifenews.com
www.humancoalition.org
fridayfax@c-fam.org
www.familywatchinternational.org
MALE OR FEMALE?
How can a Canadian mother (sorry,
I mean “parent”), have a child (a
girl apparently), who is gender neutral?
Whilst accepting genuine transgender
problems, this is complete
nonsense. To deliberately set out
to confuse a child is thoroughly
irresponsible and does nothing to
enhance the prospects of society in
general or the family in particular.
Many lively churches, like mine (right),
have a large congregation and run
several weekday activities from tiny
tots right through to meals for the
elderly. Sadly, however, many suffer
from falling numbers and low morale.
We badly need a a spiritual revolution
and Christian revival or it will soon be
too late to arrest the decline.
POINTS TO PONDER
What one person receives without
working for, another person must
work for without receiving.
The government cannot give out to
someone without first taking it away
from someone else.
You cannot multiply wealth simply by
dividing it.
When half the people think they do
not have to work because the other half
is going to take care of them, and when
the other half realise they are working
for nothing, then that is the beginning of
the end for a nation.
FACE THE FACTS
By 2020 in Britain there will be
more Muslims attending prayers
than Christians going to church. Also,
more than half of Muslims are under 25
while a quarter of Christians are over
65. Since 2001 more than 500 churches
have closed in London alone, replaced
by more than 400 mosques. London also
has around 100 sharia courts.
38 THIS ENGLAND, Winter, 2017

Dare we hope for a change in the disgraceful amount of fish thrown away because of stupid EU regulations via a good deal over Brexit?
OUR FREEDOM IS IN DANGER
Did you know that secret family
courts exist in the UK where
children can be forcibly taken away from
their parents with everyone forbidden to
reveal or discuss any of the cases on pain
of imprisonment, even after the children
have reached their majority?
Did you know the UK has more
home-schooled children than anywhere
else in Europe? It is, however, banned
in Germany, Holland, Sweden, Spain
and all former European communist
countries. It is also in increasing danger
elsewhere, thus allowing the state to
dictate everything which is taught.
Did you know a Jewish girls’ school
was threatened with closure because it
refused to teach the ghastly totalitarian
OFSTED line on sex education?
Did you know a Southampton school
banned voting for UKIP in a mock
election because they described it as
racist and reported a pupil to the police
for researching a UKIP website?
Whatever next?
ONWARDS AND DOWNWARDS
An old friend has just ended his
academic university career. During
some recent correspondence about the
paradox of falling standards measured
against the increasing number of people
being awarded degrees, he confirmed
Sent from “Our Man in Australia” this cartoon
was too good to be ignored, for which we
would be more than happy to acknowledge
any copyright.
what I already suspected, namely that
many teaching staff are unaware of the
higher British academic standards of
the past because they never
experienced them in the first
place! This inevitably leads
to students being credited
with higher grades than
they deserve, often because
faculties are judged on results
rather than on true worth.
This alarming situation is
seen as an improvement in
standards. Poppycock!
Students celebrate their
graduation by the Smeaton Tower
at Plymouth in Devon. But have
we devalued our degree system
and do we reward people for
genuine hard work?
PAUL WOLOSCHUK
JOHN LEWIS
Just over 90 years ago there was a
song entitled “Masculine Women and
Feminine Men — Which is the Rooster,
Which is the Hen?” Part of the lyrics
went “Girls were girls and boys were
boys when I was a tot” and went on to
mock the idea that men and women are
the same when clearly they are not.
John Lewis has just turned the clock
back, however, by abandoning separate
boys’ and girls’ clothing. Unisex may be
a clever word but the underlying mantra
is deliberately confusing to young minds.
There is already far too much political
correctness imposed by the thought
police so is it not time to once again
allow boys and girls to be themselves?
DARTFORD CROSSING
Once upon a time you could pay a
human being or a machine to cross
the River Thames via the M25. Not any
more because you now need an online
account which is impossible for those
without a computer. Net result? Two
million — that’s five per cent of all UK
drivers — are being chased for unpaid
fines from 2016.
NURSING IN CRISIS
Our over-stretched health service
needs 40,000 more nurses yet
dozens of already qualified nurses from
Australia and New Zealand are being
passed over or made to take an English
language and training course designed
for those from Third World countries.
University nursing courses have suffered
a 25 per cent drop in applications so why
are we purposely causing unnecessary
problems?
THIS ENGLAND, Winter, 2017 39

About as patriotic as one can get! Two
wartime Hurricanes fly over The Needles,
a series of chalk stacks off the western
extremity of the Isle of Wight.
Born 60 years ago in a small terraced house at Gateshead
on the south bank of the River Tyne in Co. Durham,
John Lowerson’s family then moved to nearby Leam
Lane, one of the newest and largest ever council-built estates.
On reaching maturity he went to college in Lancaster
before teaching art and design for further education students
in Manchester. An MA in Fine Art from Nottingham Trent
University followed which saw him teaching in that area before
working in forensic occupational secure therapy units for
Nottinghamshire NHS.
When interviewed at the time
about his art he admitted to making
life-size cardboard Daleks and several
plywood kayaks! Sculpture, as well
as furniture design and manufacture
were also on the menu.
Asked if any of his paintings could
be found in public places he disclosed
that the French oil company, ELF,
had once bought an abstract canvas
for the reception area of their head
office in Cheshire. However, he
thought it was more to do with the
colour scheme matching their logo
than the excellence of the work in
question!
Like many artists, John’s unique
style is based on his previous life and
experience. During the Second World
War his father piloted Lancaster
bombers out of RAF Scampton in
Lincolnshire and he readily admits
to a distinct nostalgic and historical
perspective in all his art.
He remembers painting at primary
school and being fascinated by the shapes of the letters of
the alphabet, and this at a time of relative austerity when
supplies were not always available. Times change, though, and
every painting he now produces is evocative of an earlier age,
suggesting a wistful link to his childhood and adolescence.
Children can remember detail and many of his stark
background scenes will be familiar to older readers, landscapes
which John describes as both important and absorbing. The
northern hills and moors feature prominently, especially in his
watercolours, which measure about 40 cms. x 25 cms.
Above: Triumph motorcycles were built in Coventry
and were everywhere during the Fifties.
Below: The Wolseley Hornet was one of a variety of
models based on the iconic Mini.
“Tornado” is a replica A1 4-6-2 Pacific express steam locomotive built at Darlington from
where it emerged in 2008, the first of its kind since “Evening Star” was built by British
Railways in 1960. It is depicted here in the apple green livery of the LNER.
40 THIS ENGLAND, Winter, 2017

British cars and motorcycles from the Fifties and Sixties
figure a great deal as they made up the vast majority of
vehicles on English roads at the time. Foreign imports were
relatively rare until they began to flood the market during the
Seventies, firstly with motorcycles and then with motor cars.
It was also important to John that his vehicle images were not
glamorised, something which is clearly reflected in the absence
of expensive models only available to the rich.
He now lives in the village of Hetton-le-Hole in his native
Co. Durham and, since returning to the North East, classic
steam locomotives have been added to his art portfolio, which
he attributes to railway heritage in general but particularly the
building of 60163 “Tornado” which emerged from Darlington
works in 2008, the first main line steam engine to be built from
scratch in modern times.
Are John’s transport paintings nostalgic, atmospheric and
pleasing on the eye? Most certainly!
PETER WORSLEY
Sunderland flying boats were manufactured by Short Brothers and used
extensively for wartime reconnaissance. They packed a healthy array of
armaments and were nicknamed “Flying Porcupines” by the Germans.
Gunthorpe Lock, Nottinghamshire.
In the foreground is a Ford Zephyr Zodiac, complete with whitewall
tyres, while in the background are two different Ford Popular
models. The artist paints from memory and, given the presence of
tram lines, agrees this seaside location
could be either Blackpool or Fleetwood.
VW Camper Van.
Further Information:
John Lowerson’s paintings can be found at the following website:
theartonlinegallery.com/artist/john-lowerson/
Left: Short wheelbase soft top Land
Rover.
Below left: Now preserved in
its post-war shape, “Duchess
of Sutherland” belonged to the
Coronation class of express
locomotives built for the LMS during
the Thirties, when several were
streamlined as shown here.
Below right: The artist’s father flew
Lancaster bombers during the war
and this one was a member of 153
Squadron.
THIS ENGLAND, Winter, 2017 41

The Editor is always pleased to receive letters or emails
from readers, which must contain the writer’s
name and full address, not necessarily for
publication, but regrets that he is unable to
acknowledge or reply individually to
letters received, except by way of
occasional comment in these columns.
The right is also reserved to abbreviate letters
intended for publication, unless correspondents
specifically request otherwise.
Please address your letters to
“Post Box”, This England,
The Lypiatts, Lansdown Road, Cheltenham,
Gloucestershire, GL50 2JA.
Email: editor@thisengland.co.uk
Website: www.thisengland.co.uk
James Herriot
Sir: “Askrigg and the Yorkshire
Dales” (“English Excursions”,
Autumn 2017) brought back
pleasant memories. In 1983
my wife and I started watching
All Creatures Great and Small
on our local public television
channel. We loved the series
and bought the books. We
decided to visit Yorkshire to
see if we could find Alf Wight.
In Thirsk we found Skeldale
House and saw Mr. Wight
leaving, on his way to treat
a sick cow, but he graciously
waited while my wife took our
picture. He also invited us to
see him later after surgery.
About a dozen of us — mainly
Americans — waited for him
and he invited us in where
we had a pleasant time taking
photographs and getting books
signed. He was a very kind and
unassuming man.
Two years later, we went back
to Yorkshire and we returned
to Skeldale House to see Mr.
Wight. There were about 15 of
us in his surgery, and when it
came to my wife’s turn to have
a book signed, he looked up at
her and said: “You’ve been here
before.” Wow!
We have made 15 trips
to Britain, exploring your
wonderful country from
Land’s End to Inverness. As
lovers of English literature,
we have visited the former
homes of Jane Austen, William
Wordsworth, Beatrix Potter,
Thomas Hardy and the Brontë
sisters. For me, though, visiting
“James Herriot” in his surgery
in Thirsk was the biggest thrill
of all. — DAVID ROBERTSON,
KERRVILLE, TEXAS, USA.
42 THIS ENGLAND, Winter, 2017
Day of Prayer
Sir: The film Dunkirk is creating
great interest. There is, however,
one major fact not mentioned
in the film. The situation was
so desperate, King George VI
called for a National Day of
Prayer on 26th May 1940. In a
broadcast he asked the people
of Britain to pray for God’s
help. Thousands of special
services were held across
the country. The fascinating
photograph (below) shows
the extraordinary scene
outside Westminster Abbey as
frightened people queued to
pray, a scene replicated across
the nation.
Two significant events
followed. Firstly, a violent
storm arose over the
Dunkirk region grounding
the Luftwaffe, which had
been killing thousands on the
beaches. Secondly, a great calm
descended on the Channel, the
like of which hadn’t occurred
for a generation, enabling
the hundreds of tiny boats to
rescue 338,000 soldiers, rather
than the estimated 30,000.
It was the timing of these
events immediately after the
Prayer Day which led people
to speak of “the Miracle of
Dunkirk” and Sunday 9th
June was officially appointed
as a Day of National
Thanksgiving.
Looking back at this and other
events the Bishop of Chelmsford
wrote: “If ever a great nation
was on the point of supreme
and final disaster, and yet was
saved and reinstated it was
ourselves…it does not require
an exceptionally religious mind
to detect in all this the Hand of
God.”
At the end of 1942, after
the tide had turned in the war,
Churchill was moved to say,
“I sometimes have a feeling of
interference, I want to stress
that. I have a feeling sometimes
that some Guiding Hand has
interfered.”
To coincide with the film,
details of various Wartime
Miracles are being sent to
thousands of churches across
the UK to give congregations
People queuing outside Westminster Abbey for the National Day of
Prayer in 1940. See letter above.
hope and reassurance, much
needed in our unsettling times.
If anyone would like this
uplifting information directly by
email, then they are welcome to
contact: strengthenthefaithful@
gmail.com, clearly putting
Wartime Miracles in the subject
box. Thank you. — REV. J.
WILLANS, LEIGH, SURREY.
Back to Butlin’s
Sir: I enjoyed “See You at
Butlin’s” (Summer 2017).
On 20th August 1966, my
wife and I were married in
Southampton and went to
the new Chichester Motel en
route to the Butlin’s Hotel in
Brighton for our honeymoon.
Driving my old Austin A35
with “Just married” painted
upon it and dressed in our
wedding outfits, I asked for
directions from a local bobby
on foot patrol. He gave us the
directions to the motel and
announced in a loud voice and
with a smile on his face, “Good
night, sir!”
Not sure what today’s married
couples would make of a week
at Butlin’s, but we did meet
some really nice people from
many parts of England and
enjoyed all the activities while
there. — LES PAYNE, CAMBRIDGE,
ONTARIO, CANADA.
English Travels
Sir: I purchased the Summer
2017 issue to read the article
on Poldark and I felt I had to
write about my experiences
in the south of England in the
autumn of 2015. My mum and I
were on a six-day tour of Devon
and Cornwall. It was some of

A Silver Cross of St. George for a campaigning English patriot
Amongst all the hypocrisy surrounding the European
Union, one man has stood out from the crowd. A
former business executive, Roger Helmer was elected as a
Conservative MEP for the East Midlands in 1999, 2004 and
2009. A Eurosceptic by nature
he regularly asked inconvenient
questions of the European
Parliament and refused to be
gagged by the Tory leadership
when it came to misrepresenting
or hiding the political, social and
economic truth.
In 2005 he had the party
whip withdrawn when he
defied instructions on a point
of principle and although it was
restored the following year he
remained Non-Iscrit, a term for
those who sit non-aligned in
parliament. A member of the
ECR (European Conservatives
and Reformists), he campaigned
vigorously about the injustices
and double standards which he
perceived all around him and
regularly challenged views which
he felt were being put forward as
facts without any proof.
Exasperated by his own party’s
failings, in October 2011 he
announced his resignation after
admitting “Twelve and a half
years banging my head against
the same brick wall in Brussels
is perhaps long enough!”. He
Roger Helmer
wearing a
This England
lapel badge
expected to be succeeded by fellow Eurosceptic, Rupert
Matthews, who was next in the queue from the original
Conservative party nominations. However, the party
leadership reneged so he promptly withdrew his retirement
and switched to UKIP (the United Kingdom Independence
Party), for whom he became an outstanding ambassador
in the fight to publish the truth about the cumbersome
bureaucracy and manipulative political bias of the European
Union, as well as the anti-Brexit reasoning shamelessly
peddled by the BBC, Guardian, Financial Times, Independent
and other media outlets.
Working closely with other
Eurosceptic politicians, Roger
sought to challenge views and
ideas which suddenly became
fashionable when espoused by
powerful lobby groups who
persuaded those in authority to
accept their radical ideologies
without thinking them through
first. High on his list were the
church abandoning its Biblical
stance on various issues; those
who hijacked and changed the
original meaning of certain
words for anti-religious ends and
personal gain; how the National
Health Service could be run
more efficiently; and especially
the climate change lobby whom
he felt glossed over, ignored or
manipulated inconvenient and
unproven data about alleged
global warming.
A key member of the Freedom
Association, Roger is a political
realist who, in the face of
globalism and its faceless tycoons,
has championed truth and free
speech. If we are to survive the
current vindictive restrictions and
anti-religious laws created by those in authority then we need
more people like him to speak out. The world is in grave
danger so, in appreciation of his campaigning career, we are
pleased to endow Roger with our Silver Cross of St. George
and wish him a long and happy official retirement.
CHARLES MEREDITH
the most beautiful and magical
scenery I had ever seen. Our
(originally) German guide
Maria was so passionate about
this region. She had lived there
for 20 years and showed us the
best the region had to offer. I
will never forget those six days.
On that same trip we spent a
night in beautiful Cambridge.
Our family background is
English, so we are very patriotic.
We are returning to England
this November and will be
visiting York, Stratford
and London (where we will
be seeing two musicals),
Greenwich and Chelsea Physic
Garden among other things.
I cannot wait to be back on
English soil. — JAY GOULD,
AUSTRALIA.
*We’re delighted to hear that
you’ll be visiting again. To get
a quarterly breath of English
air, why not consider taking
out a subscription to This
England (see page 98)? — Ed.
Music Hall Memories
Sir: “Let’s All Go To The
Music Hall!” (“London Pride”,
Summer 2017) brought back
many happy memories for me.
I was just 14-years-old at the
end of 1944 and had returned to
London after being evacuated
to South Wales. My mother
lived in Wellclose Square,
near to Grace’s Alley, and for
sometime during my teenage
years, Wilton’s Music Hall was
used as a youth centre, which I
attended every evening.
We had activities for both
boys and girls including:
cooking, drama, art, table tennis
and on Sunday evenings they
held a church service, which we
were all encouraged to attend.
In those days it was called
“The Old Mahogany Bar”, I can
only assume this was because
of the amount of mahogany
that was used on the interior.
The balcony was beautiful,
THIS ENGLAND, Winter, 2017 43

‘POST BOX’ (continued)
and behind it were small
rooms which were used for the
activities.
I went there until I was 17 or
18 and there were still air raids
going on. We would shelter
below the stage or outside in
the brick-built surface shelters.
— IRENE DELBOSQ, DORRINGTON,
LINCOLNSHIRE.
County Celebration
Sir: May I congratulate you and
your team for the work and
effort in making A Celebration
of the Traditional Counties of
England such a wonderful book.
It is so full of detail which is
knowledge in a nutshell! — MISS
CYNTHIA LAMBERT, SCARISBRICK,
SOUTHPORT, LANCASHIRE.
*Thank you for your
comments and we’re delighted
to hear you enjoyed it. Copies
are still available to order.
See details on page 82. — Ed.
Enid Blyton
Sir: In the letter “Meeting Enid
Blyton” (“Post Box”, Summer
2017), Mrs. Sutton recalls a
visit she made to Swanage in
1947 and meeting the famous
children’s author. That bookshop,
Hill & Churchill, was owned by
Ted Gathercole, my uncle.
Enid Blyton and her husband
Kenneth Darrell Waters were
keen golfers — he bought the
local course — and they were
frequent visitors, staying at
the Grosvenor Hotel. Some of
Enid’s books were set in Dorset.
When my uncle died in 1947,
my brother, newly demobbed
from the army, took over the
management of Hill & Churchill,
so the “salesman” who greeted
Mrs. Sutton was undoubtedly
him, Bill Hurrell. He lived with
his wife and children in the
elegant two-storey flat over the
shop. He died in 1992.
I met Enid Blyton often
when staying in Swanage, and
she once invited me to be
“companion” to her daughters.
I was 18 and a music student, so
declined! — MRS. WENDY DILLON,
ULLENHALL, Nr. HENLEY-IN-ARDEN,
WARWICKSHIRE.
Thomas Hardy Play
Sir: In 1925 my grandfather
Philip Ridgeway snr. decided
he’d like to stage a production
of Tess of the D’Urbervilles at
his Little Theatre in Barnes.
Thomas Hardy was still alive at
the time and had seen a local
Dorchester production by the
Hardy Players and was quite
44 THIS ENGLAND, Winter, 2017
A reader recalls Swanage in Dorset and the famous children’s author
who visited there. See letter this page.
CHRISTOPHER NICHOLSON
resistant to another production
that he thought wouldn’t be
anything like as “good” (he was
particularly partial to the leading
lady!).
Grandfather Ridgeway took
a big risk and put the proposed
production into rehearsal. He
managed to persuade Hardy
to let him bring the entire cast
down to Dorchester to perform
it in his dining room at Max
Gate. Hardy stipulated that
there were to be no press at the
occasion, which was a problem
for Grandfather as publicity was
what he was after! He agreed,
but cast a few “pressmen” as
extras (fully costumed) so he got
his publicity although there is
no record as to Hardy’s feelings
about this.
There are letters from
Hardy to my grandfather in
the Dorset County Museum.
Hardy was enchanted by Gwen
Ffrangcon-Davies who was
cast as Tess. The production
went ahead with a month at
the Barnes Theatre and was
followed by a transfer to the
West End. — LOUISE DENNY, ST.
LEONARDS-ON-SEA, EAST SUSSEX.
Bevin Boys
Sir: Regarding the “Bevin Boy”
article (“Forget-Me-Nots”,
Spring 2017) I was conscripted
in August 1944 and had a
similar experience. On my
demob in November 1947,
the coal industry had been
nationalised and a massive
investment programme was
implemented. The NCB needed
to train personnel to carry
out the reorganisation and I
was approached and asked to
consider a career in mining.
Thomas Hardy’s home, Max Gate, where a reader’s grandfather
arranged a performance of Tess of the D’Urbervilles. See letter above.
JOHN BLAKE
After some thought I opted to
train as a mine surveyor and
attended Wigan Mining College,
qualifying in 1953. Many Bevin
Boys remained in the industry
and had successful careers as
managers, scientists, geologists,
etc. I completed 40 years of
service.
The Bevin Boys in general,
including myself, had a very
rudimentary knowledge of
mining and most of us were not
interested. After a few years
I realised what a fascinating,
interesting, hard and rewarding
job it was to win coal. We have
an ex-Bevin Boys’ Association
and I am a member sitting on
the national committee.
I would highly recommend a
visit to the National Museum of
Mining at Caphouse Colliery,
near Wakefield, Yorkshire.
— PHIL ROBINSON,WARRINGTON,
CHESHIRE.
Roy Faiers
Sir: Further to the well-deserved
tributes to This England and
Evergreen’s founder Roy Faiers,
I have the first issue of Norfolk
Life from June 1967. It was
produced by Roy Faiers from his
office in The Street, Brundall,
Norfolk, for the wonderful price
of three shillings.
I subscribed to this magazine
for many years and copies are
safely preserved in my bookcase
today. They are a quality
magazine reflecting, in the words
of Roy Faiers, “the true spirit
of Norfolk and its people both
past and present.” Illustrated
by the uniquely characteristic
drawings of Colin Carr, and
black-and-white photographs old
and new, they are a delightfully
gentle resource to dip into.
After several years it was
allied with Suffolk under the
title of Norfolk and Suffolk Fair.
I do not think that this magazine
is produced any more, but it
has some successors including
Suffolk and Norfolk Life. So
I would like to feel that Roy
Faiers established a pattern of
local magazine production that
others still follow. Our heritage
is what we leave behind. —
GEOFFREY DIXON, SMALLBURGH,
NORFOLK.
Sir: I was very saddened to hear
of the passing of Roy Faiers. My
first meeting with him was in
1967 in Grimsby, Lincolnshire. I
had just moved to the area and
was seeking employment in the
printing trade. I had come across
a small local printers called
Windles, which Roy Faiers had

ought to print his first monthly
magazine Lincolnshire Life. I
commenced working for him and
within a few weeks had settled
in to what I can honestly say was
one of the happiest periods of
my working life.
Other magazines soon
followed including Cotswold
Life, Chiltern Life and Norfolk
Fair all celebrating the life and
times of each county, with no
society weddings or celebrity
gossip. It was a busy time, with
more work than a small printer
could cope with so, when This
England was launched in 1968,
an outside printer was used.
When Devon Life was added
to the monthly magazines, the
printing was transferred to
Exeter and I was instrumental in
establishing the new plant.
Roy Faiers subsequently
Covers for the first four issues of This England published in 1968.
Readers recall memories of the early days and the magazine’s founder,
Roy Faiers (see this and previous page).
moved all the editorial offices
from Grimsby to Cheltenham
and was concentrating all his
energies on This England, which
had really taken off. By 1972 he
decided to sell the printing side
of the business, which brought
to the end my association with
him as my employer.
However, our paths did
cross again in the late-1980s
when I was working as a print
estimator for Wheatons, the
book and magazine publishers
in Exeter. Roy approached the
company for a quotation for
book printing and thus began a
new association with him as my
very valuable customer! For the
following 10 years I worked on
some of his books, which were
invariably illustrated by Colin
Carr, including Parlour Poetry;
Forget-Me-Nots; What’s On the
Box? and The Whimsical World
of Colin Carr.
So for me, my working life has
been involved, with Roy Faiers
starting with our serendipitous
meeting all those years ago.
— THOMAS DUNN, ALPHINGTON,
EXETER, DEVON.
*This England celebrates its
50th birthday in 2018 and we
will be marking it with articles
in the magazine and a special
publication in the summer.
—Ed.
This England’s Finest Tea Rooms
Winter is the season when you can’t beat settling down by
an open fire with a cup of tea and this is something that
you can certainly look forward to at our first award winner in this
issue. Teapots, 31 High Street, Olney, Buckinghamshire has
been nominated by local residents Barrie and Barbara Trinder.
They tell us: “We
are fortunate
enough to live
just a five-minute
walk away from
this quaint, oldfashioned
tea
room so we are
able to visit often.
The decor oozes
nostalgia from
shelves displaying
vintage tea cups,
and, of course, teapots to an array of antique cameras, historic
photographs of Olney....while a real coal fire is a welcome sight
for visitors on frosty days in winter.”
Open throughout the week, the menu has a superb selection
of savouries, tempting cakes and the traditional afternoon tea.
Among the delicacies highlighted by Barrie and Barbara are
the pancakes, with a variety of fillings, which is very fitting as
the annual Olney Pancake Race passes the tea room window
on Shrove Tuesday. In addition, individual customers’ needs,
including gluten free, are always catered for.
With all this on offer, and such a warm welcome, we take
great pleasure in awarding Teapots one of our certificates.
Our second winner is a “first” on our tea-room trail, as it
takes us to Northern Ireland. Nannabelle’s Vintage Tea Room,
24b Railway Street, Antrim was discovered by Patricia Owen
from Perth, Western Australia, when she was on a recent visit to
attend a family wedding. Describing it as “a little gem of a tea
room,” Patricia praises “The wonderfully friendly staff and the
sumptuous cakes, scones and tray bakes.” She admits that her
favourite was the wheaten bread, served with butter, cheese
and relish and says that her visit there was “a delightful
experience.”
Patricia loved the way the tea was poured from silver teapots
into pretty china cups and the fact that the staff uniform “made
you feel as if you had stepped back in time”. But, looking to
the future, she tells us: “This is a definite ‘to do’ next time I visit
Northern Ireland.”
Travelling much further afield, Jim Willis, who lives in
Barrie, Ontario, contacted us to nominate two Canadian
establishments, which he considers worthy recipients of our
award. The first is James Bay Tea Room, 332 Menzies Street,
Victoria, British Columbia and the second, Campbell’s British
Foods, 274 Burton Avenue, Barrie, Ontario, is a wonderful
combination of a very British cafe, offering a fine and patriotic
menu, together with a shop which is stocked with all sorts of
delicious food, drink and condiments that offer you a real taste
of home.
And home is somewhere we
return to with our final award
for 2017. Maddalena’s, 6 Bank
Buildings, 159 High Street,
Cranleigh, Surrey is, according
to Marion May from Guildford,
a “superb tea room”. She praises
its “Scrumptious light lunches
and afternoon teas, which can
be enjoyed while surrounded by
pretty pink and grey decor.” For those who find the generous
portions, too much, there is “a doggy bag set on a golden tray”
to take any left-over treats back home to enjoy. Marion continues,
“Maddalena and her friendly and helpful staff make the occasion
something special. A perfect place for a memorable event.”
Congratulations to all these tea rooms,
your certificates are on their way. We will
be serving up more winners throughout
2018. In the meantime if you would like
to recommend your favourite, send details
to: This England’s Favourite Tea Rooms, The
Lypiatts, Lansdown Road, Cheltenham,
Gloucestershire GL50 2JA, email: editor@
thisengland.co.uk .
THIS ENGLAND, Winter, 2017 45

‘POST BOX’ (continued)
This England’s New Festival of Britain!
In the autumn issue, the Editor’s Letter recalled the 1951 Festival of Britain and suggested that, as the UK prepares to leave the EU, we
should consider calling for a new Festival celebrating all that the UK has to offer. We have been inundated by your responses, so thank
you to everyone who has replied. We include a few snippets from some of your letters and emails below and will publish more in the spring
2018 issue. Keep watching this space and the Blog section of our website (www.thisengland.co.uk) for more news. You can also register your
online support at www.thisengland.co.uk/festival .
I have just taken out a
subscription for This England and
was overwhelmed by the fervour
for a Festival. I am all in favour.
We keep reading negative
reports about how the UK will
manage once we rid ourselves
of the control of the EU. Your
editorial was a joy to read! —
SUSAN PRESTON, BY EMAIL.
I enjoyed your Festival of
Britain article. I was 22 years old,
living in London and working
with the newly formed National
Assistance Board where we were
busy taking in from Communist
Poland all the dependants of
Polish armed forces who had
fought our common enemy.
London was where I got to see
concerts in the Albert Hall, and
there were the theatres too. But
the icing on the cake was that
1951 Festival which, I do hope
will be resurrected in a modern
form, to delight us all again. —
MRS. G. SALLIS, LANCING, SUSSEX.
What an excellent idea to
have a Festival to look forward
to when all the fuss about
Brexit has calmed down. To
start working towards it now
might be the solution to a lot
of the present miseries and give
a boost to everyone who looks
forward to a great future outside
the EU. — KENNETH LACEY, BY EMAIL.
What a wonderful idea which
I heartily endorse. I visited the
Festival of Britain and remember
the Dome of Discovery, the
Skylon and the fascinating Shot
Tower. And now you seek to
instigate a modern-day revival.
Brilliant! Best wishes for the
success of your endeavour. —
TREVOR JOHNSON, CHURCH STRETTON,
SHROPSHIRE.
I would like to have my
support noted for the United
Kingdom Festival in 2019. I’ve
shared details with a Jacob Rees-
Mogg group that I’m a member
of on Facebook and everyone
so far is very much in favour. —
LYNN TICKLE, BY EMAIL.
I am voicing my strong
support for a Festival to take
place when Brexit has finally
been implemented. This should
be accompanied by a Bank
Holiday Monday which would
give Britain the opportunity for
a yearly celebration. — MATTHIAS
GENTET, CHIPPING NORTON, OXON.
I remember the Festival of
Britain as the grammar school I
was attending took a party of us
to London for five days and we
attended a ballet at the Royal
Festival Hall.
What a marvellous idea to
celebrate our freedom from the
shackles of the European Union!
— JEAN FLACK, BY EMAIL.
May I congratulate you on
proposing the staging of an
event to promote Great Britain
along the lines of the Festival of
Britain of 1951. As you so rightly
say, this would be the time to
proclaim our independence as
a great nation, what we stand
for, what we can do and what
we can achieve and to show our
unique heritage to the world.
The Festival of Britain of
1951 did all those things and
was visited by more than
eight million people. The new
“Festival of Great Britain” would
exceed that figure with ease;
the world is not coming out of
a world war and travel is much
more popular and our islands
attract millions of visitors each
year — think what an added
attraction this would be, and
what a boost to our country’s
coffers at the crucial time of
leaving the European Union.
We have so much to be proud
of, here is a golden opportunity
to show the world! — RICHARD
HOLDSWORTH, MELBOURNE, VICTORIA,
AUSTRALIA.
How wonderful to celebrate
a release from the European
Union. There are so many
people looking on the black side
when we have so much to offer
the whole world. — MRS. VALERIE
MITCHELL, HALIFAX, YORKSHIRE.
My wife and I heartily support
your proposal for a Festival of
the United Kingdom. It’s a really
splendid idea, which we hope
will materialise. — PETER & ESTHER
ISAAC, LOOE, CORNWALL.
I very much support your
proposal for an exhibition to
celebrate our freedom from the
EU. There should be a hall for all
the UK inventions, discoveries
and innovations without which
the modern world would not
exist, plus details of those great
men and women from these
islands who have led the way in
so many fields.
As far as culture is concerned
we have had artists such as
Turner, novelists like Jane Austen
and Dickens, great actors and
actresses and, of course, William
Shakespeare. The sports we
have given to the world include
football, cricket, rugby, golf,
tennis, squash and badminton
while organisations range from
the Royal Society, the Scouts
and Guides to the Mother of
Parliaments. The ideals of trial
by jury and habeas corpus were
also conceived in this country.
When one realises that, in
addition to all the above, the
Industrial Revolution began in
the British Isles, British explorers
opened up the world, the British
Empire was the greatest the
world has ever seen and the
English language is spoken by
one in five people on the planet,
we can see that only fools can
regard this country as being
other than perhaps the greatest
nation that has ever existed. —
COLIN BULLEN, TONBRIDGE, KENT.
You ask about interest in a
Festival of the UK. I suggest that
a narrow majority of four per
cent on a very serious issue such
as leaving the EU hardly justifies
a celebration. It was reckless to
even ask the bland question in
a national referendum. Now
the UK faces its biggest political
disaster since the Second World
War. I can only hope that we
will exit Brexit, or perhaps hold
another referendum, or best of
all that the UK will rejoin the EU
as soon as possible. We have had
two world wars. The EU is all
about unity and peace in Europe.
— JAMES KELLY, WOODBRIDGE, SUFFOLK.
Your idea for a Festival in
two years’ time is just fantastic
and I for one am completely
for it! — IRIS FALCONE, WALPOLE,
MASSACHUSETTS, USA.
I heartily concur with your
call for a Festival when we
have regained our national
independence. I can just
remember my visits to the 1951
Festival of Britain sites.
You posed the question, what
happened to the Skylon? My
father worked at the time as an
electrician for George Cohen
and Sons’ metal recovery plant
in West Ham, London. Scrap
metal was sorted, tin cans detinned
and the metal smelted
for the booming construction
and manufacturing industries
at the time. Dad told me that
George Cohen’s Wood Lane
plant dismantled the Skylon
and recovered the aluminium,
much in demand for aircraft
manufacture. — BRIAN SMITH, KIRBY
CANE, NORFOLK.
You rekindled perfectly
the spirit of England during
the war and post-war years.
I lived in Bristol, a greatly
bombed city and the spirit of
“togetherness” was evident.
I visited the Festival of Britain,
a much-welcomed event
and have clear recollections
of it.
I voted to come out of the
European Union (as did most
folk I know) as we believed
— and still do — it to be the
only option to provide the
country with the opportunity
to become the independent
nation it once was. We despair
of the downward trends today.
I plan to print off your letter
and circulate it to my friends. A
new Festival is a brilliant idea. —
GWEN BURMAN, BY EMAIL.
46 THIS ENGLAND, Winter, 2017

Mystery Poet
Sir: The poem “The English
Language” was published in
your spring 2017 issue (“This
Sceptred Isle”) and credited
Anon. I immediately recognised
it as one written by a close
friend C. M. (Mike) Bent.
He died 10 years ago, but his
wife, Viola, confirmed that the
poem was his work, although
he titled it “English as a
Second Language” which has
a subtlety that was typical of
him.
Mike had many abilities
and chief among these was
what he called being a “verbal
prankster”. As he has written:
“This is perhaps as good a
name as any to describe my
lifelong romance with verbal
dexterity and I fully admit to
paronomasia. People say they
are sorry to hear that I’ve
got it and hope that I will get
better soon. Personally I am
delighted to have it, thank you.
It’s from the Greek and just
means wordplay. In no other
language can so much fun be
had as in English. However
much you dislike the pun as
a plaything it is the vehicle
supreme of the double entendre.
Light verse is my delight.
Nothing serious.” — GERALD
ATKINSON, INKPEN, HUNGERFORD,
BERKSHIRE.
V2 Flying Bomb
Sir: I have read with interest
the item from Adrian Cooper
about his experience with
a V1 on Waterloo Bridge
(“Forget-Me-Nots”, Autumn
2017) and thought you might be
interested in my “brush” with
a V2.
During the war, my parents
lived in Hampstead in London
and we lived on a road called
Broadhurst Gardens. On 8th
January 1945, when I was nearly
seven, my mother and I were
walking along the road in the
late afternoon. As I recall, it
was not yet fully dark when
we saw a glow in the sky
above us travelling west on
a descending trajectory and
then it disappeared from
view.
Very soon after there was
a loud explosion and we later
learned that it was a V2, which
had struck about a mile away
hitting houses at 112 – 116
Iverson Road and killing two
people.
I have looked on Google
Earth at the impact site and to
this day the site of the houses
and two or three to either
side have not been rebuilt
and it is still a vacant area.
— DAVID FRANCIS, WAKEFIELD,
YORKSHIRE.
Newburgh Priory
Sir: Mention of Newburgh
Priory (“Post Box”, Autumn
2017) brought back memories.
I was a boarder at Lindisfarne
College, Westcliff-on-Sea,
Essex, in the 1930s. In 1939
we were evacuated, first to
Burnham-on-Crouch, before
we amalgamated with Pannel
Ash College from Harrogate,
which had moved to Newburgh
Priory.
This caused great excitement
among the boys as we had to
hire a train to take us, and a lot
of gear, to Coxwold from where
we walked 3 ⁄4 mile and suddenly
saw this great lake below the
priory.
It was understood that all
or part of Cromwell’s body
was buried in a vault at the
top of a staircase. Sometime
after I left there was a fire
which destroyed the chapel
and library. Subsequently
the school, which was now
known as Newburgh Priory
School, moved to Wynnstay
near Wrexham, but did not
survive for many years. —
BRIAN SNELLGROVE, TOTLAND,
ISLE OF WIGHT.
Wartime Song
Sir: My father joined the 2nd
East Kent Regiment on the
outbreak of the First World
War. He fought at France and
Gallipoli. He used to sing a
song to my sister and me that
no one has ever heard of, but I
wondered if any of your readers
had come across it or might
have any information? The
words are:
A maid she came to the camp
one day
And met a soldier on
her way,
“Tell me, tell me, is it true
That a lover of mine still rides
with you?”
And he up and he loosed his
collar tight
And thus spake he,
“On a far, far hill
Where the grass once grew
Stand 12 wooden crosses
Bright and new.
The first on the left as a man
rides through
Reads, ‘Sgt. Johnnie Ludlow,
912’.”
— MRS. JEAN FLOWER, WALLASEY,
WIRRAL, CHESHIRE.
Shades of spring in a buttercup meadow, Stiperstones, Shropshire. MIKE HAYWARD
Coming in the
Spring 2018 issue of
THIS ENGLAND
50 YEARS OF THIS ENGLAND
It all began in 1968...we celebrate our golden
milestone with recollections and stories from readers
and contributors from England and worldwide.
IN ENGLAND —NOW!
Founded over 500 years ago during the reign of Henry
VIII, R. J. Balson, a traditional butchers at Bridport
in Dorset, is the oldest family business in Britain.
Twenty-six generations after Robert Balson set up
shop in 1515, we meet the current proprietor.
LITERARY LANDSCAPES OF ENGLAND
Although he will forever be associated with the
county of Dorset, Cornwall also played an important
part in the life of Thomas Hardy. We look at these
lesser-known connections.
FROM BONFIRES AND BLOSSOM TO
MAYPOLES AND MUMMERS
A fascinating look at the merriest month and some
of the historical traditions and customs associated
with May Day.
ENGLAND’S LAST CAVALRYMAN
A personal memory of Albert ‘Smiler’ Marshall,
a veteran of the First World War who survived the
battles of Ypres, Loos, the Somme, Arras and Cambrai
and lived to the ripe old age of 108.
THE FRATERNITY OF ST. GEORGE
Armed with longbows and quivers of arrows, a group
of men and women from all walks of life and from
every corner of England are keeping an ancient
tradition alive.
NOEL COWARD AND THE ACTORS’ ORPHANAGE
The story of the great playwright and the role he
played in bringing some much-needed happiness
to the lives of destitute children.
Plus... regular features including Post Box, Cornucopia,
Notes from a Cottage Garden, London Pride, A Royal
History of England, Nelson’s Column, etc.
Publication date: 7th February
ORDER YOUR SUBSCRIPTION NOW.
SEE PAGE 98
THIS ENGLAND, Winter, 2017 47

Long Live The Guisers!
Ibecame an actor during Christmas
1947 when I was 13 years old.
Up to this time I was so shy, so
self-conscious, that I cringed every
time I entered a cafe or room where
people were present. But then I
became a member of a group of guisers
(sometimes called mummers) who at
Christmas went around my corner of
Nottinghamshire performing a kind
of seasonal play which dated back to
medieval times. Six boys with blackened
faces formed the group.
The one who began the play was called
the “Opener In”. Here one needed a
lad full of gusto and self-confidence. In
Keith Simpson we had just the right boy.
Dressed in top hat and tails he would
knock loudly on the door of the house
where we intended to perform, then walk
straight in uninvited and begin.
This element of surprise was vital,
for once we were in not many people
stopped us, especially once their children
saw Keith’s blackened face. His opening
lines were:
“I open the door and enter in,
I beg your pardon to begin:
Whether I sit or stand or fall
I’ll do my duty to please you all.
Room! Room! Give us room!
To sport our merry rhyme,
For remember good sirs
Tis Christmastime.
Step in St. George and clear
the way.”
St. George then appeared wielding
a huge sword. Sometimes he would cut
through any garlands that were hanging
too low. Then he would shout:
“I am St. George from old England
sprung,
My name throughout the world has
rung:
Many brave deeds and wonders I have
known,
A traditional folk play is performed every Boxing Day at Wantage in Berkshire.
MICHAEL WINTERS/ALAMY STOCK PHOTO
St. George in a mummers play in Southwark
on Twelfth Night. PETER MARSHALL/ALAMY STOCK PHOTO
I have made tyrants tremble on their
throne.
I followed a fair maid to dungeon
deep,
Confounding beauty to meet her fate;
When a giant almost struck me dead,
But by my good valour I cut off his
head!”
After his noble speech I would run in
dressed as a soldier and carrying a sword.
My part was Slasher, and being disguised
I was able to give the part everything; all
my inhibitions were erased by soot and
rouge. Confidently I would begin:
“I am a gallant soldier and Slasher is
my name,
With sword and buckler by my side
I’m sure to win the game.
A fight with thee St. George if thou art
able,
Disable, disable, stand thee not in my
power
For if I draw my glistening sword
I’ll soon thee devour.
My arms of brass, my body of steel
No man on earth can make me feel!”
St. George then challenged me to a
fight, waving his sword in my face and
shouting:
“Stand back! Stand back thou dirty dog!
I’ll make your buttons fly!
I’ll cut they belly clean in two
And thou will surely die!
Take guard you white-livered beast
For hungry crows on you will feast.”
48 THIS ENGLAND, Winter, 2017

I then began to fight St. George, and
after about half a minute I would fall
on the floor seriously wounded. Then
Keith, the “Opener In”, would shout:
“A doctor! A doctor! Ten pounds for
a doctor!”
A boy dressed as a doctor would run
in carrying a black bag and say:
“I am a doctor, sir.”
Opener: “Art thou really a doctor sir?”
Doctor: “Yes sir I am.”
Opener: “Where has thou travelled?”
Doctor: “Italy, Sicily, France and Spain,
O’er the seas and home again.”
Opener: “What can’st thou cure?”
Doctor: “The itch, the stitch, the palsy
and gout,
If there were 19 devils in I’d cast 20
out!”
Opener: “Then cure me this man.”
The doctor then knelt beside Slasher
and took a bottle from his bag and
proceeded to administer the potion,
saying:
“Here Jack take a little nip nap
And shove it down thy tip tap
And live to fight again.”
I would then rise again and the four
of us would stand back as Beelzebub
entered carrying a club and a dripping
pan. He would say:
“In comes our old Beelzebub,
Over me shoulder I carries me club;
In me hand a dripping pan,
Don’t you think I’m a jolly old man?
If you don’t, I do.
MIKE HAYWARD
Christmas Welcome
Christmas holds a special meaning,
Happy times to celebrate,
Pleasant meetings full of greetings —
Ring the bells, this festive date!
Extra thought and extra caring
Spread their comfort all around,
Showing — giving and receiving
Hope, where helping hands abound.
Hearts unite in friendships bonding,
Reaching out to draw within
Lonely folk, to share the welcome,
As the season’s joys begin.
ELIZABETH GOZNEY
Now if you think I’m
a fool
And got no sense,
Put your hands in
your pockets
And gis a few pence.”
Beelzebub then
moved over and stood
with the others as he
held out the dripping
pan. Then Devildoubt
appeared carrying a
sweeping brush:
“In comes little
Devildoubt
With his breeches
inside out,
Money I want and
money I crave,
If you don’t give me money
I’ll sweep you to the grave.”
Devildoubt swept the floor and all
the players began to sing a carol before
Beelzebub took the pan around for the
collection. Mostly we would be given a
shilling, sometimes more depending on
people’s generosity.
Occasionally we entered dimly lit
kitchens without the lady of the house
hearing us; then if she appeared she
would become spellbound or hysterical
on seeing our black faces.
Sometimes while the “Opener
In” was performing, we would stand
patiently waiting in the kitchen; likely as
not a mince pie or two would stray into
our hands. If we were lucky the landlord
of the village pub let us perform there.
This was our bonanza, for after our play
came the great collection — and people
gave more when under the influence.
Most of us came from poor families
and we earned more money this way
than we had ever had before — but it
was tough work, especially in the harsh
winters of 1946 and 1947. I remember
how our feet became anaesthetised,
our ears stinging with the biting frosts.
As we plodded through the snow, the
shivering wires overhead became our
garlands, the swan-necked street lamps
our fairy lights.
One Christmas Eve we decided to
ask the local mine owner, who lived in
a big house about half a mile away from
the village. “We should make at least £1
there,” said Keith.
So off we trudged up the hill, past
the farm with its sugarloaf haystack,
past the meadows shining lake-like
in the moonlight, then on to the rich
man’s house which was set in an acre of
grounds.
On arriving we crunched our way
under the stone arch with its icy coping
Sledging in the snow at Wollaton Hall, Nottingham.
GORDON GADSBY
and scrambled to be the first to bang the
heavy lion’s head door-knocker.
I can still remember how startled
the butler looked when he saw our
blackened faces and fancy dress.
Then we became startled as two huge
bloodhounds appeared, snarling
ferociously, fixing us with glassy eyed
stares.
After we explained our business we
were kindly invited to perform for the
kitchen staff while the butler went to
enquire if the mine owner would allow us
to act before his family. Twenty minutes
later, with our appetites sated and five
precious shillings clutched tightly in
Keith’s hand, we were ushered along
a dimly lit passage, flanked by suits of
armour and dark period furniture.
Eventually we were given the cue to
begin. When it was my turn I distinctly
remember noticing the vastness of the
room and feeling its warmth emanating
from the big ornamental fireplace. I also
remember that as I lay wounded my face
was only inches away from the toothy
end of a tiger-skin rug.
The children of the house, who had
obviously never seen the likes of us
before, loved the performance and
clapped rapturously. After the applause
we waited confidently for what we
all thought would be a large reward.
It was fortunate that our expressions
were hidden behind greasepaint as the
mustachioed, tweed-coated master of
the house handed Keith two florins
(four shillings), saying smugly: “Jolly
good show lads. You must come and
entertain us again next year.”
As we walked away from the tightfisted
affluence we vowed we would
never again return to that particular
residence.
MAURICE HOLMES
More ‘FORGET-ME-NOTS’ overleaf
THIS ENGLAND, Winter, 2017 49

‘FORGET-ME-NOTS’ (continued)
Ding Dong Merrily On High
The sound of church bells is surely
one of England’s signature tunes,
in few other places are they rung
so regularly or competently. If the parish
church is at the centre of village life, a
peal of bells proclaims this, lifting the
heart with its joyous voice.
Sunday tea in the garden
accompanied by distant bells
announcing Evensong is a happy
childhood memory. Later in life,
living close to the church, Friday night
practice with its false starts and pauses
encouraged me to investigate the ringers
behind the bells.
Fred, the Tower Captain, was a tall
gangly villager of nearly 70. Newcomers
were welcomed and were given half an
hour to ourselves before practice proper
began. Although poorly educated and
highly parochial, Fred knew his stuff.
He was strict, thorough, and, most
important of all, safety conscious.
Ringing is potentially dangerous; I have
seen more than one whiplash injury and
watched the rope snake neatly round a
ringer’s neck ready to hang her six feet
high if Fred hadn’t intervened.
The first ordeal was the 52 steps to
the tower; later we climbed a further
50 to the bells themselves. They were
dark and menacing, cobwebbed and
encrusted with bird droppings. The
tower was cosier: six coloured ropes
called “sallies”, a square of carpet on
the floor, two pews to sit on and a fan
heater that we crouched round in winter,
50 THIS ENGLAND, Winter, 2017
the atmosphere reminiscent of musty
schoolrooms. I enjoyed the rhythm,
pulling hard down at hand-stroke,
stretching up at back-stroke, then down
again just behind the bell in front. We
were not yet making music, we were
only tolling, but it was a start.
Other members of the band were a
motley crew as all bellringers are. Edgar
was a rather weedy GPO engineer,
round-shouldered, bottle-end glasses,
who carried his money in a purse. Alan,
lanky and keen, at 25 he couldn’t resist
showing off; as a car mechanic his hands
The bells in the tower of St. Mary’s Church at Rye in Sussex.
were encrusted with grease and he was
encouraged to stick to one bell. Then
there was Caroline, devout, po-faced but
an excellent ringer. And finally there
was Richard, bearded and scruffy a
middle-aged academic attending under
duress to make up the numbers. In the
months to come the comic side of village
ringing was to hit me hard and Richard
was the only one whose eye I could
catch to share the joke.
I diligently attended practice nights,
learning to “set the bell”, raise and
lower in peal and ring rounds — six
of us following one another. Learners
came and went but I persevered and
after six months could ring “plain hunt”,
the watershed of ringing. No longer a
novice, I could now make music with the
rest of the band. Walking home down
the dark country lane with a full moon
ahead and the last bells ringing out
behind me, I felt elated.
In winter the tower was dim and
draughty, in summer I sat on the high
window ledge and gazed through narrow
casements at the distant view. We rang
for weddings, feeling important and
necessary, standing, arms poised on the
sallies as Fred crouched down, peering
through a hole in the floor.
“Here they come! They’re in the
porch! Quick!”
He leapt up, grasped his rope,
and we followed in quick succession,
pulling heartily, broadcasting the happy
occasion to the village. Later we would
have a bird’s-eye view of the wedding
party in the churchyard: the radiant
bride, the relieved groom, the smug
bridesmaids. Later the vicar rewarded us
with £2 each.
IAN GOODRICK/ALAMY STOCK PHOTO

Under the freemasonry of
campanology everyone is welcomed
at any tower and offered the chance of
ringing the method of their choice. Very
often we were visited by groups of young
ringers who dominated the tower and
rang complicated methods. Sometimes
a silent, surly figure would shuffle in —
always known to Fred who would regale
us with an anecdote after the stranger
left. These were chiefly retired farm
labourers, dark monosyllabic men who
lived in outlying districts.
I was to find bellringing both
enthralling and demanding: everyone
took it very seriously and I was
encouraged to learn new methods.
Not being mathematically minded I
found these an uphill struggle, although
some of the names, Surfleet, Surprise,
Grandsire and Little Court were
evocative and appealing. I bought a
handbook, read the Ringing World
magazine and learnt to “follow the blue
line”, the choreography of bell ringing.
We visited other towers and I rang on
eight and 10 bells, climbed precarious
tower steps, wriggled through trapdoors
and once even broke a “stay” (the
device that keeps the bell in an upright
position between ringing), leaving me
dangling helplessly two feet above the
ground. This rare and much-frowned
upon event was followed a few moments
later by my partner breaking his stay,
also leaving him dangling above the
ground. We weren’t invited there again!
Other than Friday nights and Sunday
Evensong we also rang for festivals. On
Remembrance Day the clappers were
covered with leather pads and we rang
half-muffled. Then, at hand-stroke, the
bell gave a deep melodic chime followed
by a light normal tone which gave an
enchanting well-like resonance, not at
all the sombre note it was meant to be.
It was a greater pleasure to listen than
to ring.
At Christmas we rang morning, noon
and night — cheerful gatherings full of
true Christmas spirit. “Ring Out Wild
Bells” seemed to be echoed throughout
the village as we pulled the first handstroke
on Christmas morning dressed in
our festive best. Nothing complicated
today, just good strong rhythmical
rounds.
New Year’s Eve was even more
popular when hospitality was extended
to the whole village. There was the
inevitable countdown to midnight,
watches synchronised to Big Ben
broadcasting over the vicar’s radio as
a sturdy ringer tolled the treble bell
signifying the dying year. With seconds
Ringing the church bells at St. Mary’s, Twyford,
Hampshire.
GEOFF A. HOWARD/ALAMY STOCK PHOTO
Right: Bell pulls in the church at Huntingfield in
Suffolk.
GEORGE MITCHELL
to go we “caught hold” and at the first
stroke of midnight pulled off into rounds.
Villagers thronging the nave clinked
glasses and kissed each other, mouths
full of mince pies. Twin Christmas trees
either side of the altar glowed and
sparkled in the candlelit church — it was
a magical moment. As soon as decently
possible I escaped to the churchyard,
preferring to listen to the ringing
and gaze down on the sleepy village
wondering what promise the New Year
held.
In January post-Christmas gloom was
lifted by the annual outing. Husbands
and wives joined us at a nearby pub with
other local bands. We took over the
lounge bar and after the usual drinks and
buffet food the entertainment began.
Alan and Catherine opened the
proceedings with a few soulful folk
songs on the guitar. Having got that out
of the way Fred would stand up to give
a recital of his traditional elegy. With
his long arms dangling, grinning and
trying vainly to stop his false teeth from
dropping, he took the floor and regaled
us with the year’s events in rhyme.
Everyone was mentioned and incidents
long forgotten were resurrected in
verse. We were reminded of the night
the bellringers won at skittles, Roger’s
habitual lateness and the memorable
day the church clock stopped; mellow
with drink we laughed, clapped and
blushed by turn.
Another round of drinks heralded
the offerings of Edgar. Shy, shabby
and retiring, he surprised us all with an
original song complete with communal
chorus. We were into our stride now
and, oblivious of other customers, joined
in with gusto. Pink with a mixture of
pleasure and embarrassment, Edgar
conducted our singing until we reached
a climax and he bowed out covered in
confusion and compliments. Anna, a
newcomer like me, regaled us with a
comic song, accompanying herself on
piano. Directed at Fred, this brought
great acclaim and he, not knowing
whether he had been upstaged or
flattered, shuffled his feet and tried to
look gruff.
And so a full 12 months had elapsed
since I first climbed the 52 steps to the
belltower. As a fully fledged ringer, able
to handle the bell, understand the jargon
and ring a few methods I felt an integral
part of the fellowship. The ancient art
of change ringing, no longer quite so
esoteric but still retaining its mystique,
had claimed my soul.
REBECCA CROWLEY
THIS ENGLAND, Winter, 2017 51

Christian England
The Yorkshire church that became
a First World War memorial
The vast expanse of the North
York Moors must be one of the
most admired landscapes in the
North of England, a spectacular vision of
rolling beauty moulded over centuries,
not only by nature’s gentle forces
but also, in later days, by the hand of
mankind as agriculture and farmsteads
developed, epitomising man’s eternal
struggle to tame its bleak but wonderful
ruggedness.
My story centres around the small
but thriving village of Castleton nestled
among these moors, an area that holds
quite an emotional tie for me as I was
born and brought up here.
With religion very strong at the
beginning of the 20th century, especially
in rural areas, the Reverend George
Bird believed the time was ripe for a
new church for his flock rather than
the old iron structured “tin tabernacle”
which had stood at the base of the
village since 1863.
The community were in full
agreement, so fund-raising began in
earnest and over the next few years
a sum of £1,100 was raised. But this
proved futile as Germany became a
much more serious threat with the
outbreak of the First World War in 1914.
Many thought it would soon be over, but
it took four long years of fighting and
tremendous loss of life before peace was
finally declared.
By this time the Reverend Bird had
moved on and the project was taken up
by the enthusiastic new vicar, the Rev.
Sydney Smith, and now the building had
taken on a far greater importance. It
would be built as a lasting
memorial to the 24 brave men from
the parish who had made the supreme
sacrifice.
Costs had risen dramatically due
to the war effort and the appeal for
donations was quickly taken up again,
but even after several generous grants
and a hearty response from parishioners,
it could not meet the cost.
Saviour of the project was Castleton
businessman Fred Flintoft, suggesting
the use of local tradesmen instead of
importing outside labour. Costs could
be cut dramatically, and he would act as
honorary clerk of works.
There was only one firm at that time
with the knowledge and craftsmanship
to carry out such a project: stonemasons
Messrs. Robert, Jack and Tom Liddell
from Moorsholm who readily agreed
to undertake the building work and
masonry, with all joinery work carried
out by Danby’s Joseph Underwood.
This was a mammoth task for such a
small firm, but they were masons of the
highest order. John Liddell, son of Tom,
takes up the story on the early problems.
“The very first weeks they
encountered trouble. The east end
foundation proved to be on unstable
ground and after many nights pondering,
the only solution the brothers could
come up with was to widen the
foundation to a massive 12ft width,
spreading the weight of the structure
over a bigger area.” As John states, “It
proved to be the correct decision as
there is still no sign of movement in the
structure.”
London architects Messrs. Temple,
Moore and Moore, great designers
of many churches in their day, were
retained for the project and the new
building would follow the traditional
architecture and design of centuries-old
church history.
The late Viscount Downe not only
gave the site for the building, but also
the stone for the erection of the building
free of charge and with a donation of
£300. Also his son, the Rt. Hon.Viscount
Downe CMG DSO, would lay the
foundation stone on 24th July 1924.
Transport of the stone involved much
local labour and was from stone quarries
high above Castleton. One bears the
name Windholes, obvious from its
position, the other, Brownhill, less so,
possibly stemming from the rich, brown
colour of the stone or, I suspect, more
likely to derive from the Celtic word
“bron”, meaning breast.
These quarries bear many a childhood
memory for me, where just a little
sentiment seeps in. One that never dims
is of bursting through knee-high heather
at the Brownhill quarry entrance to
Castleton Ridge overlooking Danby Dale.
DERYCK LISTER HALLAM
52 THIS ENGLAND, Winter, 2017

e met by a swirling mass of raucous
jackdaws and a huge, dominant rock
face that appeared to blot out the clear
blue sky. Or, that was how my childish
eyes saw it, not having reached double
figures in age. I also remember the
skinned knees and elbows as I tried
desperately to reach the deep, narrow
fissures in the cliff face where their nests
were buried.
The old moorland track is barely
visible now, winding its way steeply
toward the entrance as, with the passage
of time, Mother Nature patiently claws
it back to her breast. But, with careful
scrutiny, it is still detectable just to the
right of the fiercely rising road leading
you over the highest point of these
moors from Castleton to Hutton-le-
Hole. A good marker are the old stone
watering troughs set at the right-hand
side of the road for horse and traveller
in years past. Look immediately right
and there stands the old stone post
jutting out of the hillside, still standing
at the entrance.
I often wander here still. Nothing
changes. The only signs of life are a few
sheep, along with the sharp “caback,
caback” call of the grouse startled into
flight from the surrounding heather, and
jackdaws as raucous as ever. Venture
there as the sun dips and shadows
lengthen and with very little imagination
it is easy to imagine the chatter of
workmen, the rattle of chains on block
and tackle and the thud of heavy
hammers.
Early dwellings in these dales were
built from rough, tumble stones dragged
from moor and fields. Little is left of
these now; in some cases there are just
foundations. The many quarries dotted
around these moors would spring into
existence in the strong building period
between 1700 to the middle of the 19th
century.
Brownhill quarry might have been
worked earlier. If it had, it lay dormant
for almost a century until surging to life
again in the early 1920s as Castleton
inhabitants finally realised their dream
of a new church.
The stone to be quarried first had
to be unearthed, then a chase chiselled
deep in the stone face, followed by
wedges hammered home to split the
stone from the sheer rock face. Derricks
with block and tackle were constructed
to lower these enormous blocks of stone
to the ground where the masons cut
and dressed them into walling stone.
This was carried out by the Weatherill
family from Ainthorpe and done before
transportation. Arches, lintels, tracery
and other delicate dressings that could
easily be damaged were all carried out
on site at Castleton.
This brought much needed work
and money into the area as stone
leading was taken on by local farmers,
three of whom were Tommy Boyes of
Conn House Farm, Fred Watson of
Didderhowe Farm and Walter Booth
from Holly Lodge.
Transport was by horse and cart,
although Tommy Boyes also used an old
army truck and made the comment that
he had never visited a church so often in
all his life.
The church has an imposing 52ft
tower, giving commanding views of
the surrounding district, and a slim,
central Gothic arch design window
just below the louvred top tower. The
main Gothic style porch entrance and
windows all have beautifully dressed
hooded mouldings above them which
helps divert rain away from the glass and
a small, slim side door is topped with
a shoulder arch. All pews are finished
with the adze, and rood screen, pulpit
and lectern were carved by the famous
“mouseman” Robert Thompson from
Thirsk.
The rock-face stone structure, with
walls nearly three feet thick, has lost its
early starkness, the stone weathered to
its familiar oven-baked tone blending
well within its surroundings and all
gables are crowned with stone crosses of
differing detail.
The church is dedicated to St. Michael
and St. George, of which relevant
crosses and dates are chiselled on the
foundation stone. The trees planted
at the time have now grown, adding a
maturity to the site.
Not only is the church a marvellous
testament to the skill, talent and
dedication of these master craftsmen,
who learnt their trade in these very
villages, it is also a truly fitting memorial
to the brave men of the parish who gave
their everything for their country.
JOHN WATSON
The church contains a number of Robert Thompson’s carved mice which are in rather better
condition than the weather-beaten example outside.
THIS ENGLAND, Winter, 2017 53

Memories of
Michael Bond
In many ways author Michael Bond
embodied some of the qualities
that made his fictional creation
of Paddington Bear such an enduring
success. The famous bear, impeccably
mannered and reliably forthright (if
disaster-prone) always epitomises
decency and Michael often spoke of how
Paddington seemed absolutely real to
him, his study in North London (not far
from Paddington Station) decorated with
incarnations of the bear in many guises.
Michael was a prolific author, also
writing The Herbs (a children’s TV
series), the adventures of guinea pig
Olga da Polga and the tales for adults
of detective Monsieur Pamplemousse
and canine sidekick Pommes Frites, but it was the bear from
Darkest Peru who would ensure his literary immortality.
He was born in Reading in 1926, a BBC trainee engineer
there before entering the Forces in 1943. He’d always enjoyed
writing and published his first short story in the late 1940s. After
the war he worked at the company’s Monitoring Services in
Caversham (before gravitating to life as a BBC cameraman)
where he recalled interesting colleagues including “a Russian
who’d escaped from Russia in a grand piano...and a Polish man
who had fled his homeland with a horse. He used to ride it into
work and tie it up at the cycle rack!” Despite exemplifying the
best of British spirit Paddington himself was a refugee of course
and a close friend of Mr. Gruber, the Hungarian immigrant who
shares the bear’s cosy elevenses of cocoa and buns.
Chatting with Michael was always a pleasure for he was
a gracious, amiable host who’d become very animated
discussing his beloved bear, his eyes sparkling as he
mentioned Paddington’s various exploits. He was typically
modest remembering how he’d inadvertently discovered the
inspiration for his famous bear. “It sounds like a sob story.
One Christmas Eve I was in Oxford Street and it started to
snow. I went into Selfridges to find shelter and
found myself in the toy department and there
was just this one small bear left on the shelf.
I wanted a stocking-filler for my wife so I
bought the bear.”
Writing back home in London his
eye fell serendipitously upon the
small bear. “I had no ideas as such but
looking around my small flat I saw
this bear sitting on the mantelpiece.
And I thought ‘I wonder what
would happen if’…” Literary
history followed as his
first book A Bear Called
Paddington (1958)
was hatched over a
matter of days, the
phenomenal acclaim
following this and
subsequent books allowing him to write full-time from the mid-
Sixties.
When creating his bear he’d recalled seeing trains from
London at the start of the Second World War arriving
crammed with evacuees. “They all had a label around
their necks, each carrying a little suitcase with their prized
possessions. It stuck in my mind so I gave Paddington a label,
‘Please look after this bear. Thank you’. It just felt right.”
And as to the bear’s name? “I called him Paddington
because it used to be my commuting station and I liked the
name,” said Michael. “It’s got a solid West Country sound.”
Bestowing upon his bear the duffle coat he himself was wearing
at the time and giving him a decided fondness for marmalade
sandwiches, Paddington’s credibility as a talking bear was
always tacitly accepted, assisted no doubt by Peggy Fortnum’s
wonderfully vital illustrations.
Paddington’s longevity brought his author undoubted
happiness. Some of the bear’s broad appeal derives from his
civilised life at 32 Windsor Gardens with the Brown family.
Michael once reflected, “I think people are slightly envious
of his lifestyle because the speed of life has increased all the
time...whereas Paddington lives life at his own pace,” and it’s
clearly something that strikes a chord with many for the first
Paddington feature film of 2014 was the highest-grossing UK
film of that year, its sequel eagerly anticipated this winter.
In one of our last communications mooting a future
interview he wryly wrote with enthusiasm reminiscent of his
famous bear: “If I had a helicopter I would be straight over but
alas that isn’t the case! I’m not entirely firing on all cylinders
yet but am almost there and it would be good to have a gettogether
to exchange notes on this, that and the other.”
“He was a hopeful bear at heart,” Michael once wrote of
Paddington and the same could surely be said for him, often
writing daily until his recent death in June at the age of 91.
In the first film the author was given a cameo role where
he raises a celebratory glass to Paddington and it seems only
fitting now that we offer him the same appreciative gesture,
thanking Michael wholeheartedly for his creation of “a very
rare sort of bear” who has certainly carved an indelible niche in
children’s fiction.
AMANDA HODGES
54 THIS ENGLAND, Winter, 2017

Evergreen Subscription Offer
Save over 30% exclusive to This England readers
If you enjoy This England,
why not take a look at
our sister magazine
Evergreen, for an even
broader range of stories
and snippets?
Only
£11.48
(one year)
Subscribe to Evergreen today and save OVER 30%
on the shop price with this exclusive, great-value offer
An Evergreen subscription is the perfect companion to This England magazine, with photographs of the
beautiful British countryside, articles about quaint customs and curiosities and regular trips down memory lane…
amongst the 164 pages of Evergreen you really can escape from the hustle and bustle of modern life!
Highlights in the winter 2017 issue include: Happy 70th Anniversary: Royal Wedding Recollections; Christmas Lights
and Customs in the Cornish fi shing village of Mousehole; Celebrating Sir Ken Dodd at 90; Trolleybus Travels and Treasures;
Jonathan Swift, author of Gulliver’s Travels was born 350 years ago, we tell his story; Home Town: A visit to historic
Buntingford in Hertfordshire; TV Memories: Festive favourites from the 1970s and ‘80s including Morecambe and Wise,
and The Two Ronnies; Juke Box: The 16th-century Christmas carol “Gaudete” that became a surprising hit single in 1973
for Steeleye Span; On the Air: Tune in to the results and scores with Sports Report; The Literary Pilgrim: Curl up with some
classic, spine-tingling tales of the supernatural; Music Makers: Foot-tapping tunes from the great rhythm pianists.
Take advantage of this very special offer and you will receive over 30% off an Evergreen subscription.
At only £11.48 (UK) or £17 (overseas) this great value offer is exclusive to This England readers.
As well as a subscription for yourself, why not arrange one for a friend or relative? Each gift subscription comes
with a complimentary card, on request, for you to sign and send to personalise your gift. It’s easy to arrange,
and throughout the year, as each seasonal issue lands on their mat, they will be reminded of your kind thought.
PHONE: Freephone (UK) 0800 074 0188
Overseas +44 1382 575052
VISIT: www.thisengland.co.uk
Quote code TEWINT
Terms and Conditions: *£11.48 subscription offer is available for delivery within the UK by Direct Debit only. Free postage for UK addresses only. Overseas Direct Debit
rate £17 available for UK Bank Accounts only. One year minimum term applies. One year discounted pre-pay rate £15.30 UK or £20.48 overseas. Overseas prices in other
currencies are available on application, please dial +44 1382 575052. Please allow up to 28 days delivery from the receipt of the order. Offer ends 28th February 2018.

For most people “Lawrence of Arabia” means David
Lean’s epic 1962 film starring Peter O’ Toole as the
eponymous enigma: a film that won seven Oscars,
including Best Picture and Best Director. The film purports
to tell the story of one of the most mysterious and colourful
figures in the pantheon of these islands, Col. T.E. Lawrence,
Lawrence of Arabia, or “El
Aurens” as the Arabs knew
him. But, however mysterious,
Lawrence was a real person, so on
a sunny Friday afternoon in spring
my wife and I set off to Purbeck
to find the real Lawrence and the
Purbeck locations most closely
associated with him.
Thomas Edward Lawrence was
the second of five illegitimate sons
of an Anglo-Irish baronet, born
at Tremadog, Caernarvonshire,
in August 1888. Lawrence was a
scholar, linguist and archaeologist,
knowledgeable about the Near
East, and the First World War
found him operating as an
interpreter in the Department
of Intelligence; however, within
a very short time his personality
and character raised him to
prominence.
Almost single-handed, Lawrence
engineered a revolt of the disparate
Arab tribes against the occupying
Turkish forces during the First
World War. The ill-disciplined
and formerly disunited Arabs
accepted him as a natural leader and universally acknowledged
“chieftain”, and although an outsider he was able to unite them
against their common enemy and lead them to victory. It was
his capture of Aqaba and the surrender of the Turkish garrison
there against all the odds that made his name. Lawrence’s
achievement was in being able to infiltrate the “closed shop” of
nomadic tribal life and reanimate the Arab revolt, which was
withering on the vine until his appearance.
Lawrence’s
consolidation
of the Arab
forces and his
outstanding
partisan
leadership made
possible Lord
Allenby’s triumph
in Palestine and
the rout of the
Turkish Army.
Lawrence was
now able to sit
at high table and
In search of
Lawrence of Arabia
was even to make an appearance, in full Arab garb, at the Paris
Peace Conference that followed the war.
Lawrence lived life on the edge, so it should come as no
surprise that he had at least one brush with death before the
fateful accident that finally did for him. On 17th May 1919, the
Handley Page Type O carrying Lawrence on a flight to Egypt
crashed at the airport of Roma-
Centocelle. The pilot and co-pilot
were killed; Lawrence came out
with a broken shoulder blade
and two broken ribs. During his
brief hospitalisation, King Victor
Emmanuel III of Italy visited
him, such was the fame of this
remarkable man.
Our search for Lawrence
began in Wareham, the gateway
to the Purbecks, at the Saxon
church of St. Martin’s on the
Wall. Inside the church is a stone
effigy of Lawrence in full Arab
regalia, carved between 1935 and
1938 by his friend, the sculptor
and war artist Eric Kennington.
He produced illustrations for
Lawrence’s Seven Pillars of
Wisdom (1922) and was also one of
the six pallbearers at Lawrence’s
funeral.
We haven’t finished with
Wareham, as Lawrence loved to sit
in a window seat at the Anglebury
House Restaurant and Tea Room
in North Street. There are two
plaques next to the seat: a small
brass one and a larger one, which records that “Lawrence of
Arabia spent many a pleasant hour drinking coffee at this
seat”. Lawrence also lived in the building for a time with the
then owner. It is still possible today to partake of coffee in the
same seat as Lawrence if the mood takes you.
Leaving Wareham behind us, we next pitched up at the
tiny village of Moreton where Lawrence is buried. If you
search for his grave in the churchyard, however, you will not
find it, for the churchyard was filled to capacity in 1930. The
extravagantly named Henry Fetherstonhaugh-Frampton then
The effigy in St.
Martin’s, Wareham,
and the seat in the
Anglebury House
Tea Room where
Lawrence used to
take his coffee.
56 THIS ENGLAND, Winter, 2017

Lawrence on one of his much-loved Brough Superior motorcycles and
Moreton Church where his funeral service was held.
bequeathed a piece of land on the west side of the Moreton to
Wool road to be used as a cemetery, which was consecrated on
3rd December 1930 by the Bishop of Sherborne. Among the
graves in this cemetery is that of Colonel T. E. Lawrence.
Killed in an accident on his motorcycle “Boanerges” (or
“Boa” for short), near his cottage Clouds Hill, his funeral
took place on 21st May 1935 and was attended by a large
gathering of well-known figures, including Mr. and Mrs.
Winston Churchill, the King of Iraq, George Bernard Shaw
(who helped Lawrence write Seven Pillars of Wisdom), the
artist Augustus John who painted Lawrence in 1919, Eric
Kennington, General Wavell, war poet Siegfried Sassoon,
Lady Astor, Sir Ronald Storrs (an official in the British
Foreign and Colonial Office who Lawrence once described
as “the most brilliant Englishman in the Near East”), and
Lawrence’s youngest brother Arnold. The village school
provided the choir for the funeral. By coincidence the
twins Walter and Harry Pitman who refuelled Lawrence’s
motorcycle at Bovington immediately before his accident
were also in the choir.
“May was in all its magnificence when they brought his body
to Moreton Church at the age of 46”, wrote Harry Ashley in
Explore Dorset (Hyperion Books, 1985).
The grave of
Lawrence and
the bier that
was used at his
funeral.
The church today is remote and tranquil, but it’s possible
to stand there in solitude and imagine a day more than threequarters
of a century ago when a national hero came here to be
mourned and the great and the good followed in his wake. It is
a short walk from the church around the corner and across the
road to Lawrence’s grave.
A simple posy of lilac and forget-me-nots was laid on the
grave on the day of the funeral. The gravestone reads, “To the
dear memory of T.E. Lawrence, Fellow of All Souls’ College,
Oxford. Born 16th August 1888. Died 19th May 1935. The
hour is coming and now is when the dead shall hear the voice
of the Son of God”. At the foot of the grave is a carved book
inscribed “Dominus Illuminatio Mea” (The Lord is my light).
His coffin was transported on the Frampton estate’s bier.
On decamping to the tea room in Moreton (the former village
school) we were astonished to find that the funeral bier is in
use today as an improvised cake table. I would imagine that
Lawrence would chuckle heartily if he could see this. There is
also a Lawrence Room in the tea room where photographs of
the funeral can be seen.
After this it was time to head for Lawrence’s retirement
home at Clouds Hill: “In the heart of Hardy’s great heath,
surrounded by woodland and swathed by rhododendron
bushes, stands a little insignificant cottage.” (Ashley) It is just
over a mile from Moreton and close to Bovington Camp, home
of the Armour Centre (formerly the Royal Armoured Corps
Centre) and the famous Tank Museum. This spartan, humble
cottage was once the home of Lawrence, the home he’d
earmarked for his quiet retirement.
The National Trust looks after the
cottage today, which has the simple
words “Nothing Matters” written
in Greek over the door. Lawrence
bought it when, after years of living
amongst international intrigue
and having been the confidant of
famous men, he opted for a simpler,
withdrawn life, far away from the
fame and notoriety. Lawrence’s
motives for voluntarily seeking a
fresh identity in the lowest ranks of
the RAF (Aircraftsman Shaw) have
never been fully understood and
mystery continued to surround him
until the day he died.
THIS ENGLAND, Winter, 2017 57

‘IN SEARCH OF LAWRENCE OF ARABIA’ (continued)
The upstairs living room of Clouds Hill; the exterior of the property
which Lawrence bought in 1925 as a holiday retreat and which is now
owned by the National Trust; the site of Lawrence’s fatal accident.
NATIONAL TRUST
It is certainly possible that he was disenchanted with what
he described as “the shallow grave of public duty” when he was
unable, both as a delegate to the peace conference and later as
an adviser on Arab affairs to the Colonial Office, to achieve all
that he had espoused for the Arab cause.
Lawrence’s family cousins, the Frampton family, owned
Moreton Estate. Lawrence had rented and later bought
Clouds Hill from the Framptons. He had been a frequent
visitor to their home, Okers Wood House, and had for years
corresponded with Louisa Frampton. On Lawrence’s death, his
mother arranged with the Framptons for him to be buried in
their family plot at Moreton.
Lawrence died as he lived, in a blaze of publicity, just
two months after he’d finally left the Services. His death
was caused by his love of fast motorbikes. While travelling
at great speed along the straight road to Moreton to send a
telegram a dip in the road obstructed his view of two boys on
their bicycles; he swerved to avoid them, lost control and was
thrown over the handlebars. He died six days later.
The evidence at the inquest revealed a curious
contradiction. Corporal Catchpole of the Royal Army
Ordnance Corps was standing about 100
yards from the road, near Clouds Hill,
when he saw Lawrence on his motorcycle,
travelling at about 50 or 60 miles an hour.
Just before he heard the crash he witnessed
Lawrence pass a black private car going in
the opposite direction. The two boys, whose
evidence about times was confused, had no
memory of a car passing them.
There is a small memorial at the side of
the road about 150 yards from Clouds Hill,
overlooking a small car park, which marks
the approximate spot. The stone bears a
weathered inscription declaring that, “Near
this spot Lawrence of Arabia crashed on his
motorcycle and was fatally injured 13th May
1935”. There is also a small metal plaque
towards the base of the stone stating that the
tree here was planted on 13th May 1983 (the
48th anniversary) by Mr. Tom Beaumont,
who served with Lawrence in Arabia as his
number one Vickers machine gunner.
58 THIS ENGLAND, Winter, 2017

“All men dream, but not equally. Those who dream by night in the
dusty recesses of their minds, wake in the day to find that it was vanity:
but the dreamers of the day are dangerous men, for they may act on
their dreams with open eyes, to make them possible.”
— T.E. Lawrence, Seven Pillars of Wisdom
If you follow the track out of the
corner of the car park back towards
Clouds Hill you come to a further
memorial after about 50 yards on the
left, just under a tree at the base of
a ditch. This one was erected later
and is reputed to mark the exact
spot where the motorbike came to
rest, although the words on the stone
(again weathered) record that, “T. E.
Lawrence was fatally injured near this
place 13 May 1935”. On the evening
that we were there the last rays of the
sun were poignantly finding their way
through to the stone and illuminating it.
At different times Lawrence
had owned seven Brough Superior
motorcycles and his seventh
motorcycle is now on display at the
Imperial War Museum. Part of the
mystery is how such an experienced
biker could have come to grief in
such a way. The opening sequence of
Lawrence of Arabia is set in Purbeck,
with Lawrence shown refuelling the
motorbike himself before setting off on his last cataclysmic
journey. His love of speed is certainly portrayed in this brief
but shattering start to the film.
The circumstances of Lawrence’s death had far-reaching
consequences. One of the doctors attending him was the
neurosurgeon Hugh Cairns. He was profoundly affected by the
incident, and consequently began a long study of what he saw
as the unnecessary loss of life suffered by motorcycle dispatch
riders through head injuries. His research led to the use of
crash helmets by both military and civilian motorcyclists.
Due to the nature of his work less is known about Lawrence
than other great heroes of these islands and he refused all
honours or distinctions, feeling that he had merely performed
his appointed task. However, in defiance of his own reticence,
a bust of Lawrence was placed in the crypt of St. Paul’s
Cathedral alongside the tombs of Britain’s greatest military
leaders including the Duke of Wellington and Admiral Nelson,
Lawrence in 1919, a poster advertising the
Oscar-winning film and (below) the view over
Godlingston Heath towards Poole Harbour.
CHRISTOPHER NICHOLSON
such was the esteem in which he was
held.
Lawrence continues to mystify even
today. Since his death, it is said that
local farmers and people have often
heard the haunting roar of his Brough
Superior motorcycle just before
sunrise. Reports, however, say the
noise abruptly ceases before anything
is seen. Then there is also the story of
the white roses. On every anniversary
of Lawrence’s death, a single white
rose is delivered to Clouds Hill with the enigmatic message,
“The secret remains safe”. What secret?
My wife and I love nothing better than to lose ourselves
in the beautiful Isle of Purbeck, in any season and in any
weather, but on this particular Friday afternoon in spring our
Purbeck idyll was only enhanced by following in the footsteps
of one of our nation’s most inspirational, yet enigmatic and
mysterious heroes.
STEVE ROBERTS
Further Information
Clouds Hill, King George V Road, Bovington, near Wareham,
Dorset BH20 7NQ
Tel: 01929 405616
www.nationaltrust.org.uk/clouds-hill
The Membership Secretary, T. E. Lawrence Society, PO Box 728,
Oxford OX2 9ZJ
www.telsociety.org.uk
THIS ENGLAND, Winter, 2017 59

Where Have all the Fairies Gone?
Where have all the fairies
gone? Those “Little People”
who once lived upon the airy
mountain, in the rushy glen or roamed
the haunted grove, are now most
noticeable by their absence. Lately I
have not read of anyone attending a
fairy funeral (William Blake claimed to
have witnessed one) or chancing upon a
goblin market.
Long ago and far away, belief in
fairies and fays was commonplace.
They were associated with spirits of
the dead and fallen angels, who, being
mortal, were not untainted by sin. A
prolific number of the troublesome
things were malignant, as for example
Jenny Greenteeth, who hid in stagnant ponds and streams
where she waited to drag unsuspecting victims down to a
watery grave. Another was the nursery bogie, Rawhead-and-
Bloody-Bones, who lived in a dark cupboard, usually under
the stairs, where he fed on naughty children.
It was Shakespeare who first introduced us to the fairies
and their kin that we are most familiar with today, as in
Queen Mab, the weaver of dreams, in Romeo and Juliet and
those spirited wisps of A Midsummer Night’s Dream. It is
within the mystical glade of a wood near Athens where we
first meet Oberon, king of the fairies, and his consort, the
beautiful Titania and her elfin attendants: Peaseblossom,
Moth, Mustardseed and Cobweb, along with that mischievous
prankster whom some call Puck or Robin Goodfellow.
Shakespeare’s concept of fairyland was probably
influenced as much by Chaucer, whom he admired, as by
popular ballads such as “Thomas The Rhymer” and “Tam
Lin”, both of which relate how the protagonist is captured
by fairies and detail their ensuing exploits and experiences
in fairyland before being able to effect release. Shakespeare
The fairies’ song in A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Act II,
Scene II.
CLASSIC IMAGE/ALAMY STOCK PHOTO
was most certainly familiar with
The Discoverie of Witchcraft
by Reginald Scot, an English
gentleman and Member of
Parliament. Scot wrote his
work primarily to discourage
belief in witchcraft, and in so
doing recorded other folklore
and superstitions with regard
to Puck, that most prominent
figure in English fairy tradition
who was once regarded as the
patron of witches.
His name is derived from
the Middle English “Pook” or
“Pouka” meaning elf or sprite,
and similar names abound in
other languages, though ecclesiastical interference has often
resulted in him being associated with the devil. He is also
known as a hobgoblin which simply means “the goblin named
Hob”, which was merely a diminutive of Robin.
In Puck of Pook’s Hill, Kipling portrays Puck as “the
oldest Old Thing” and thus the best qualified to narrate the
history of England through a series of short stories and songs.
Kipling imbues Puck with his own imaginings of Albion’s
glorious past, evoked through myth, legend and colourful
historical discourse.
Though fairies were first ascribed wings in 18th-century art,
influenced by the religious images of putti — or cherubs as
we are nowadays inclined to call them — it was the Victorian
artists who popularised the notion of fairies having the power
of flight. One of the most gifted exponents of this genre was
Arthur Rackham whose wondrous depictions of diaphanouswinged
creatures adorned the pages of many children’s books
such as Rip Van Winkle, Peter Pan of Kensington Gardens,
Undine and A Midsummer Night’s Dream.
Airborne elves and pixies had entered the nation’s psyche
by 1917 when 16-year-old Elsie Wright borrowed her father’s
Midj quarter-plate camera and took a photograph of her
younger cousin, Frances Griffiths, seated before a group of
dancing fairies by the beck at the bottom of their garden in
Cottingley, Yorkshire. Two months later they took a second
photograph which featured Elsie seated upon their lawn
extending her hand towards a leaping gnome.
The photographs languished in obscurity until three years
later when they came to the attention of Sir Arthur Conan
Doyle who had a keen interest in psychic phenomena.
With the aid of theosophical lecturer, Edward Gardner,
Doyle persuaded the girls to take further photographs, and,
following some delay due to bad weather, they eventually
produced a further three images. After having the plates

subjected to a series of tests by appointed experts,
Doyle wrote The Coming Of The Fairies (1921) in which
he endorsed the authenticity of the photographs. He
sincerely believed that mankind was about to unlock the
hermetic doorways that would lead into the realms of
fairyland.
Had Doyle employed the unsentimental logic of
Sherlock Holmes he might have deduced that both he and
his associates were victims of an elaborate hoax. It would
be over 60 years before Elsie and Frances would admit
that the photographs had been faked.
Understandably, at the time, the Cottingley fairies
attracted much publicity and possibly encouraged the
formation of the Fairy Investigation Society — where else
but in England would you find such a society? Founded in
1927 by Captain Sir Quentin C.A. Craufurd (who regularly
corresponded with Doyle) and artist, engraver and writer
Bernard Sleigh, the society’s principal aim was to collate all
information on fairy sightings.
A retired naval officer, Craufurd, who had studied physics
at Greenwich College, was regarded as a pioneer of wireless
technology and is credited with inventing the first remote
radio device which pre-empted the mobile phone by decades.
He also developed an “ether machine” that enabled him
to converse with the marsh fairies that inhabited his house,
though he was never able to see them, unlike his tame
jackdaw who viewed them with disdain.
Thanks to Craufurd’s magnetic persona, the society
boasted an impressive membership which included eccentric
aristocrat Lady Nina Alida
Molesworth; Romany expert,
Walter Starkie; sculptor Ola
Chon; RAF commander Sir
Hugh Dowding; Surrealist
painter and author Ithell
Colquhoun; spiritualist and
erstwhile seeker of the Holy
Grail, Wellesley Tudor Pole; and
the mysterious Madame Zanoni
among others.
Amid disagreement over
dogma, the society disbanded
at the outbreak of the Second
World War and was not
resurrected until 1950, when
they were fortunate enough to
Photographs of the Cottingley
fairies, which prompted Sir Arthur
Conan Doyle’s book (left).
An Arthur Rackham illustration from Peter Pan in
Kensington Gardens. WALKER ART LIBRARY/ALAMY STOCK PHOTO
enlist an energetic young
woman called Marjorie
T. Johnson who became
secretary and editor of
the F.I.S. newsletter.
She proved a tireless
campaigner for the cause
and together with Alasdair
Alpin MacGregor, the
noted Scottish folklorist, began
to conduct a survey into fairy encounters and canvassed the
national press and periodicals for support.
Upon receiving an encouraging numbers of replies,
Marjorie (who as a young child had seen an elf in her own
bedroom) commenced work on compiling a book of reported
sightings from a wide cross-section of all social classes. Sadly,
Marjorie died in 2011 aged 100, before her ceaseless labours
bore fruit. Documenting over 400 reported sightings, Seeing
Fairies as the work became known, was eventually published
in 2014, due in no small part to the Herculean efforts of
historian Dr. Simon Young who recognised the value of
Marjorie’s research.
Dr. Young has since relaunched the F.I.S. online; as a
secular version of the original it is intended for those who
have an interest in fairy-lore, “be they believers or ultra
skeptics.” Though the society is now engaged in another
survey of supernatural beings I fear they will garner few
rewards and fairies as creeping
urbanisation erodes our countryside,
forcing every nixie, pixie and
leprechaun into the ever-retreating
wild places of this weeping world.
And even if, dear reader, you
do not believe in fairies, is it not
comforting to know that we live in
a nation that nurtures and cherishes
such fascinating individual oddities
as Elsie Wright, Edward Gardner,
Quentin Craufurd, Wellesley Tudor
Pole and Marjorie T. Johnson? All of
whom are none the less enchanting
than any Robin Goodfellow or Queen
Mab of the moonbeams.
LIN BENSLEY

Joseph Mallord William
Turner (1775-1851) was not
only one of Britain’s finest
landscape painters but was also
a talented if embryonic architect.
In later life he once opined that,
had he to live his life again, he
would emphatically embrace an
architectural career rather than
that of a painter, so keen was
his interest in the subject. It thus
seems only fitting that the recent
renovation of Sandycombe Lodge
(to be known as Turner’s House)
in Twickenham — which he
planned to his own specification
and built around 1812 — will now
stand as enduring testament to his
architectural ability and vision.
The £2.4 million restoration
funds necessary to bring Turner’s
house back to life were raised
due to a combination of support
from the Heritage Lottery Fund,
other funding bodies and generous
public donations. Opened to the public in July 2017, the
house, now stripped of its tall Victorian extensions and with its
stucco facade restored to the original brickwork, today closely
reflects how the house would have looked in Turner’s time,
restored to its former simplicity. Subsequent suburban sprawl
unfortunately means that Turner’s two-acre garden cannot
be authentically recreated in its entirety but it is intended
that a flavour of the original garden can be conveyed to
contemporary visitors so planting work here has recently begun
in preparation for 2018.
Turner’s career was in the ascendant at the time he began
seeking a country retreat in the early 19th century. He once
said “I know of no genius but the genius of hard work”, and
Turner’s House
After a £2.4 million restoration, the
country retreat of one of England’s
greatest artists is now open to the public
he had studiously pursued his
chosen craft for many years since
his early studies at the Royal
Academy school. He would
become renowned for elevating
landscape painting to the highest
echelons, a position that had
been formerly reserved for
historical art. “To select, combine
and concentrate that which is
beautiful in nature and admirable
in art is as much the business of
the landscape painter in his line
as in other departments of art,”
he once declared and his career
would exemplify this belief.
The affluent artist had acquired
land near Twickenham riverside
around 1807 and had long hoped
to find some congenial spot that
would offer respite from the
intense demands of his London
life. Owning a country retreat was
also an indisputable mark of a
man’s reputation and it is unlikely
that Turner, a Londoner who retained the strong cockney accent
of his youth, was oblivious to this.
His father, formerly a Covent Garden barber, had recently
retired and so the plan was for Turner and “Old Dad” as
William senior was usually known, to move together to
Twickenham. Their permanent base in the capital was never
relinquished though and the artist would return here after
Sandycombe was regretfully sold in 1826 possibly due to his
father’s failing health. Turner’s keen talent for design also
flourished in London as he opened a purpose-built gallery
“England: Richmond Hill on the Prince Regent’s Birthday” was exhibited
in 1819.
62 THIS ENGLAND, Winter, 2017

J.M.W. Turner
(1775-1851) ,
an engraving
of Sandycombe
Lodge in 1814, the
house before and
during restoration,
and the main
bedroom.
Below: The
winding staircase.
specifically to display his
own paintings within a
congenial setting.
Turner was long familiar
with the area around
Twickenham (and had a
friend living nearby on
Richmond Hill in the shape
of Joshua Reynolds, the
Royal Academy’s first
President) and had been
dismayed by the demolition of poet Alexander Pope’s villa
nearby in 1808. Briefly schooled in Brentford and often renting
property locally in order to sketch, the beautiful scenery
around Richmond (an area perceived as culturally important
and artistically inspiring) seems to have been richly stimulating
as many of his famous works like the oil painting England:
Richmond Hill on the Prince Regent’s Birthday date from his
time in the borough.
Turner’s early training as an architectural draughtsman
was invaluable as he was in the fortunate position of being
able to design the new dwelling himself. It would first be
known as Solus Lodge, but became the more pleasingly
named Sandycombe Lodge over the passage of time, perhaps
paying homage to the sandy ground occupied by the house.
“Old Dad” would embrace his new life enthusiastically in
Twickenham, working as both its gardener and housekeeper.
Sandycombe Lodge was intended as a small, straightforward
dwelling, two storeys high with an unexpectedly elegantly
proportioned hallway (pehaps influenced by Turner’s friend,
Sir John Soane) and a winding staircase that led to the first
floor overlooked by an elegant skylight. A tiny scrap of
original wallpaper dating from the time of Turner’s residence
was found during early excavation work on the property and
has been faithfully recreated in the large upstairs bedroom
which would have belonged to the painter himself, his father
occupying the floor’s smaller room where recent conservation
work is now documented. A telescope in Turner’s bedroom
offers the visitor a beguiling glimpse of what he would
have seen in his time here, a view spanning the meadows of
Richmond Hill which he painted several times in his career.
Today the house has been recreated to reflect Turner’s own
tastes as he maintained a sparsely furnished abode, always
intended as a simple, cosy retreat from the capital where he
could unwind. Early 19th-century furniture has been used
throughout the restored property, partially influenced by the
inventory of items taken from Turner’s London home after
his death in 1851. Since the intention was to authentically
recapture the essence of the house in his era this uncluttered
ethos has been faithfully honoured in the restoration.
It is not known for sure if Turner painted in the house itself
(although some sketching at least is surely likely), but he
certainly kept ship models in glass-cases here as inspiration
for his marine watercolours and today two such models are on
display in the sitting room. The nautical influences are most
appropriate, for Turner’s stout, short stature often saw him
hailed as a likely sea-captain and here at Twickenham he could
THIS ENGLAND, Winter, 2017 63

‘TURNER’S HOUSE’ (continued)
The sitting room where a model of a ship
reflects the artist’s maritime interests.
Below: “Frosty Morning” which is now
exhibited in Tate Britain.
briefly relax near his beloved river, occasionally entertain the
odd friend to visit when feeling congenial or perhaps even
indulge in the odd picnic, a favourite pastime of the painter’s.
One of Turner’s familiar companions would be his horse
Crop-Ear, the artist’s principal means of transport during the
years at Sandycombe Lodge as Crop-Ear pulled a carriage
containing “sketching apparatus” as Walter Thornbury’s
contemporary biography of the 1860s described it. It is said
Crop-Ear was the model for all the horses to be found in
Turner’s art, one of the most famous pictures being Frosty
Morning which now hangs in Tate Britain. The search for
Crop-Ear’s last resting place is now underway locally as it was
believed that Turner had his equine companion buried on land
that he owned, either at Sandycombe or, more likely, in the
meadow now occupied by a public house and a row of terraced
houses.
Although Turner was one
of those fortunate artists
who would know acclaim
within his own lifetime
this doesn’t suggest by any
means that he met with
universal approval within
the art world. “Indistinctness
is my forte,” he would say
yet some disparaged his
technique of using colour
and light to convey what
could be considered an
unusually impressionistic
perspective, something that
was not yet well-known.
“My job is to paint what I see, not what I know,” Turner said,
embracing the realms of imagination with a pioneering approach
that could be considered an early precursor of Impressionism.
His masterful use of light allowed him to take a familiar view
and by virtue of his brush transform it into something fresh
yet eternal that would cement his reputation as one of the
most important landscape painters. Although it’s a moot point
whether Sandycombe Lodge witnessed the actual composition
of any of Turner’s famous paintings of Richmond it certainly
provided both solace and inspiration which in themselves are
indispensable for any artist.
AMANDA HODGES
Photographs: Anne Purkiss © Turner’s House Trust Collection
Further Information
Sandycombe Lodge, 40 Sandycoombe Road, Twickenham TW1 2LR
Tel: 020 88925485 Website: turnershouse.org
64 THIS ENGLAND, Winter, 2017

This England’s Annual 2018
Produced by the same editorial team responsible for each
quarterly issue of This England, and packed with stunning
colour photographs and poems and articles on a wide range
of subjects, our new Annual promises to be more popular than
ever before. As well as providing regular readers of
the magazine with a much-anticipated “fi fth issue”,
This England’s Annual is also top of many people’s lists
when deciding what to give a friend or relative as a greatvalue,
easy-to-purchase gift.
From articles about English places and notable people
to features about English customs, history and colourful
characters, there is something for everyone. And not only that:
every item in the 2018 Annual is published for the fi rst time,
and because the articles are refreshingly unconcerned with the
problems and controversies of today, they never go out of date
and can be enjoyed again and again.
Just
£6.99
to UK
Out
Now!
HIGHLIGHTS
Softback, 100 pages.
INCLUDE:
THE SHIPPING FORECAST: “Viking, Forties, Cromarty, Forth, Tyne, Dogger, Fisher, German Bight…” We tell the story behind this
much-loved English institution.
RUDYARD KIPLING: His poem “If” was recently voted the nation’s favourite. We look at the life and work of one of England’s
greatest writers.
FACT OR FICTION?: He has been immortalised in pantomime and is always depicted with a cat. But who was Dick Whittington?
A MOST PECULIAR PARK: Dinosaurs lurk in the undergrowth, stone sphinxes guard a fl ight of steps that leads…nowhere. A site in
London still evokes the lost glories of the Crystal Palace.
THE LANGUAGE OF FLOWERS: Red roses for love, snowdrops for hope, marigolds for despair… for the Victorians, the blooms
they gave or received were laden with meaning.
EXPLORING ENGLAND’S INNS: From Black Horse and Red Lion to Royal Oak and Cross Keys, the names of our pubs tell tales of
history, legend and local industry.
There is also a quiz, pages of jokes
to make you chuckle, glorious colour
photographs depicting England throughout
the year, a series of pictures portraying
“Old London”, and much, much more.
One copy: Code: TEA18
Just £6.99 to UK,
overseas £9.25. US $19; Can $20; Aus $21; NZ $24.
SPECIAL OFFERS:
Two Annuals to one address: Code: TEA82
Just £12 to UK,
overseas £16. US $32; Can $34; Aus $36; NZ $41.
Annual, Country Calendar and Desk Diary: Code: TCK18
Just £17.95 to UK,
overseas £23.95. US $48; Can $51; Aus $53; NZ $61.
0800 074 0188 (FREE from UK landlines) Mon-Fri 8am-6pm, Sat 9am-5pm overseas: +44 1382 575052
This England Publishing Ltd., P.O. Box 814, Haywards Heath, Sussex RH16 9LQ.
www.thisengland.co.uk E-mail: sales@thisengland.co.uk
Dollar prices are subject to exchange rate variation if payment is made by debit/credit card. A transaction fee may apply.
Save
over
£5!
THIS ENGLAND, Winter, 2017 65

Centenary of the
First World War
Story of the Scrapbooks
A chance auction buy reveals a tale of love and loss
My father had one particular
weakness. He only had to
see the word “Auction”
and his eyes would light up in excited
anticipation. Given the opportunity he
would go along and enthusiastically
wave his catalogue or nod his head to
bid for any item that took his fancy.
Sometimes they were useful things like
mirrors or chairs, but quite often they
were for no known purpose — such
as the badly cracked teapot decorated
with violets bought because they
were my mother’s favourite flowers.
His excitement at bringing home
his “treasure” from the auction was
contagious though and the items he
bought have remained in the family.
One of his most interesting purchases
was several large, dusty scrapbooks each
one embossed in red with the words
THE GREAT WAR. Full of cuttings
from newspapers, postcards, stamps and
memorabilia they charted the course
of the conflict. As well as the items
carefully stuck in, there were many
loose pieces and a huge number of small
cutouts of individual obituaries of the
Fallen.
I remember that it was a hot
summer’s day around 1980 when he
came back with these books and my
mother, my two sisters and I were sitting
outside. My father proudly laid them
on the table and we enjoyed looking
through them for a while before we
all drifted inside for one reason or
another. When we came outside again
a short while later a surreal sight met
our eyes. A breeze had blown up and
lifted each small obituary cutting and
scattered them around the garden —
but in an incredibly ordered fashion.
Every bush, tree and flower seemed
to carry an image of
those who had made
the ultimate sacrifice. It
was a strangely moving
experience as though
the garden had become
a wartime cemetery and
instead of just a name on
a cross we could now put
a face to them.
The scrapbooks were
eventually put away and
forgotten about until,
on my father’s death in
1999, I found them and
took them home with
the intention of doing some research.
But they ended up in a cupboard
once more and it was only with the
centenary of the First World War that
I thought about the scrapbooks again
and wondered if, with all the facilities
the internet now offers, I might be able
to find out something about them. And,
sure enough, because one book has a
nameplate for Alice Reynolds-Peyton,
the story began to emerge.
Alice was born in Ireland, the
daughter of Major John Riley of the
Connaught Rangers, and on 4th April
1894 she married James Reynolds-
Peyton, who lived at Laheen, County
Leitrim. James had an illustrious career
becoming JP, High Sheriff and Deputy
Lieutenant of County Leitrim before
leaving Ireland to live in London. Their
son John (Jack) was born in Marylebone
on 18th January 1896 and, two years
later, his sister Dorothea was born.
By the 1901 census the family
were living at 37 Augusta Gardens in
Folkestone, a prestigious address in a
town that was then regarded as the most
fashionable of all seaside resorts. The
advent of the railways, and the decision
by Lord Radnor to develop his estate
had totally transformed Folkestone.
Crescents, villas, large hotels and
beautiful parks were all built and the
upper classes flocked there to take
up residence. Augusta Gardens was a
CHRONICLE/ALAMY STOCK PHOTO
66 THIS ENGLAND, Winter, 2017

crescent of beautiful houses close to
the seafront and The Leas — a clifftop
promenade designed by Lord Radnor
for the use of the upper classes with
a private police force to ensure its
exclusivity!
Maybe it was living by the sea, or
because of a family tradition, but by
1909 Jack was a Naval Cadet at the
Royal Naval College at Osborne on
the Isle of Wight. On 15th January, just
before his 13th birthday, he was granted
the rank of Lieutenant. The College
took boys from the ages of 13 and Jack
was still at Osborne in 1911. After two
years at Osborne boys usually went to
complete their training at the Royal
Naval College in Dartmouth and Jack is
likely to have followed this course. He
would have started his sea training at
the age of 17 and a year later when the
One page in Alice’s scrapbook includes these
cards made from postage stamps. They were
sold in aid of
the Cheery
Fund in order
to buy mouth
organs for
soldiers and
sailors.
First World War began he would have
the opportunity to put this training into
practice.
Jack served on HMS Ambuscade, an
Acasta-class destroyer launched in 1913.
The ship formed part of the Grand Fleet
that took part in the Battle of Jutland in
1916, and in the later years of the war
she was a convoy escort.
With her teenage son off to war,
Jack’s devoted mother Alice devised a
way of coping with the agonising worry
— by filling scrapbooks to keep her
informed of what was happening and
of what Jack was experiencing. Alice
must have spent hours scanning all the
newspapers and then carefully cutting
out everything that was of interest to
her. Some of the entries are marked
with a blue crayon as though these were
of special significance — and there
are touching personal details included
such as a badge ribbon and a green
and grey feather. And everywhere she
went in Folkestone Alice would have
had reminders of the war as the town
became the main embarkation point for
troops bound for France and Belgium.
Slope Road led from The Leas to the
harbour and many thousands marched
down it to sail to war — it became
known as the “Road to Remembrance”.
The years passed and Alice kept up
her diligent labour of love. Then, in
November 1918 victory was
imminent and all the papers
were full of excitement
at the end of the terrible
conflict. Alice must have
felt relief that her son
would soon be home. But,
tragically, days before the
Armistice, Jack died on 4th
November — a victim of
the Spanish ’flu that killed
so many young people worn
down by the stress and privations of
the war. He is buried near his father in
the family plot at Windsor Cemetery in
Berkshire. However, there is a mystery
that I haven’t been able to solve. There
is a superb stained-glass window in his
memory in the Church of St. Mary,
Lowe House, St. Helens, Lancashire,
and masses are still said for Jack — but
who paid for this and why?
Records reveal that Alice continued
to live in Folkestone until 1940 but then
the trail goes cold. But forty years later
her scrapbooks turned up at an auction
house in Kent — and still serve to
honour the memory and sacrifice of Jack
— and his Mum. SUSAN ROSS
The central part of the memorial triptych
stained-glass window in the Church of St.
Mary, Lowe House in St. Helens, Lancashire.
THIS ENGLAND, Winter, 2017 67

A collection of customs, curiosities and coming events
Manchester’s Victoria
Baths Make a Splash!
Twenty-four years since its
closure, Manchester’s historic
Victoria Baths held the first
public swim in its Gala Pool this
summer. Following an extensive,
on-going restoration project
the Grade-II* listed building,
which opened in 1906 and was
described as “a water palace”, is
being brought back to life.
The baths, in Chorlton-on-
Medlock, won the 2003 BBC
television series Restoration
and the efforts of a dedicated
charity trust and a team of
willing volunteers have seen
the gradual revival of this
magnificent municipal treasure.
Featuring exquisite mosaics,
stained glass, terracotta and
decorated tiles, Victoria Baths
are a stunning example of
artistry, architecture and social
history.
Commenting on the historic
swim, Gill Wright, Project
Development Manager for
Victoria Baths, said: “This was
the most wonderful day. We
knew it would be a special
event, but seeing the pool
filled with people joyfully
experiencing the opportunity
to swim in this stunning
setting, even though it was
just for one day, surpassed our
expectations.”
She continued: “What’s been
clear is the love there is for this
building and the shared passion
there is for securing its future.”
It was an occasion that
enabled people to relive
memories and make new
ones. Whilst some had swum
in the Gala Pool before,
others had waited 24 years
for this moment, and it didn’t
disappoint.
Martin Peagan, who travelled
from the North East said: “It’s
not every day that you can
swim in a pool that was used
100 years ago. So many of
our wonderful old baths have
disappeared, we really have to
treasure those that remain. The
swim event was fantastic, but I
now want to see a time when
Victoria Baths is available to
everyone to use all the time.”
Helen Antrobus who swam
with her mum Alice Antrobus,
said: “Our heritage helps to tell
the story of who we are and
gives an incredibly important
focus for communities. For
me this was a wonderful
opportunity to share memories
with my mum, who learnt to
swim here whilst at school.
Victoria Baths shows what an
ambitious place Manchester was
in the early 1900s and I hope
that the city’s passion today
can drive forward the support
for this wonderful building, the
like of which there is nothing
comparable.”
Following works to the roof,
exteriors and some interiors,
the restoration of the Turkish
Baths is the next step in the
Trust’s plan, with the long-term
aim being to restore the whole
building, including having a
The historic swim at
Manchester’s Victoria Baths.
STEVE ALLEN
swimming pool for permanent
public use.
To find out more about
the history, restoration and
fundraising plans visit:
www.victoriabaths.org.uk .
Literary Great Returns
to The Potteries
Abronze sculpture of Stokeon-Trent’s
most famous
literary son has been unveiled
to mark the 150th anniversary
of his birth.
Born at 90 Hope Street,
Hanley, on 27th May 1867,
(Enoch) Arnold Bennett went
on to pen many best-selling
novels including The Card,
Anna of the Five Towns and
Riceyman Steps, drawing on
his experiences of life in the
Potteries. He also became
highly influential in politics and
culture.
Talented sculptors Michael
Talbot and Carl Payne were
commissioned by the Arnold
Bennett Society to create the
statue which sits on a granite
plinth outside the famous
Potteries Museum & Art Gallery
in Bethesda Street, Hanley.
The project was funded by the
Denise Coates Foundation.
As Vice President of the
A statue of Arnold Bennett has
been unveiled in his hometown
of Stoke-on-Trent. LYNNE BEBBINGTON
Society, Professor Ray Johnson
MBE welcomed guests and
dignitaries, including the
county’s Lord Lieutenant, Ian
Dudson CBE, and the city’s
Lord Mayor, Councillor Ros
Irving, to witness Bennett’s
grandson Denis Eldin unveil
the statue. He had travelled
specially from his home in Paris
for the event.
It is appropriate that Bennett’s
statue is positioned outside the
museum, alongside those of R.J.
Mitchell, the aircraft designer
best known for the Spitfire,
and The Steel Man. All are
reminders of the city’s proud
heritage.
For details of the Bennett
150th anniversary events, go to:
www.arnoldbennettsociety.org.
uk .
GRAHAM BEBBINGTON
Don’t Miss the
New Postal Museum!
London’s new heritage
attraction, The Postal
Museum, is now open in
Phoenix Place, Clerkenwell.
Visitors will be sent on a
68 THIS ENGLAND, Winter, 2017

journey through five centuries
gaining a previously unseen
view on some of the world’s
significant historical events, and
an insight into the earliest social
network.
Among the array of exhibits
are two- and four-wheeled GPO
vehicles from across the ages;
documentary films (including
the famous Night Mail); post
boxes; priceless sheets of
Penny Blacks; and the sculpture
of Queen Elizabeth used to
produce the iconic stamps.
Visitors can also decipher Morse
code, write a message and
watch it disappear through
pneumatic tubes, to be received
by a stranger at the other side
of the museum.
Tickets include access to a
subterranean world that — until
now — remained hidden from
public view. Visitors descend
into the old engineering depot
of Mail Rail — the 100-yearold
Post Office railway —
and board a miniature train
designed to transport them
through its narrow tunnels. The
interactive ride passes beneath
the Mount Pleasant sorting
office, stopping at the original
station platforms where an
audio-visual display shows how
the railway kept post coursing
through London for 22 hours
a day.
Clever technology transports
people back in time to show
the impact of the railway on
our ability to communicate with
friends, family and colleagues
across the world. Powerful
events from history, including
the Blitz, will also be revealed
and a theatrical experience
brings the station back to its
1930s heyday.
For full visitor information go
to: postalmuseum.org
Contrasts on
the Cornish Coast
The old and the new are
co-existing in harmony
along the North Cornwall coast
at Bude.
Standing proud above the
Atlantic is Compass Point, a
former coastguard lookout
station, while further along the
spectacular cliffs are the iconic
satellite dishes of GCHQ Bude.
Compass Point — known
locally as the Pepper Pot — is an
octagonal tower based on the
Tower of the Winds in Athens.
It was built around 1835 and
has the points of the compass
carved on its eight sides.
More than 130 years
later GCHQ Bude became
The old coastguard lookout
Compass Point, with GCHQ Bude
seen in the distance, on the north
Cornish coast.
MIKE HAYWARD
operational and is now one of
the largest employers locally.
The site forms a critical function
in GCHQ’s wider intelligence
and security mission.
It is a far cry from the days
when Cornwall’s rugged
coastline was a haven for
wreckers and smugglers. At
one time Bude was said to
be notorious for wreckers
who plundered the ships that
came to grief off the coast —
reportedly more than 80 of
them between 1824 and 1874.
Today, this popular
seaside resort is a haven
for holidaymakers who take
advantage of its wide sandy
beaches and family friendly
attractions.
LYNNE HAYWARD
The longest serving Household
Cavalry horse, Viscount, starts
his retirement at The Horse Trust,
Buckinghamshire.
Happy Retirement
for Equine Soldier
After almost 22 years’
military service, Household
Cavalry horse Viscount has
been welcomed at the Horse
Trust’s Home of Rest in
Buckinghamshire.
Viscount, a 17hh Black
Gelding Irish Sports horse,
served with distinction in
all aspects of service, from
ceremonial parades to training
new recruits. He completed
his military training aged just
five, passing out in 1997 and
went on to spend time with
the Queen’s Life Guard at all
the major State parades. In his
last four ceremonial seasons
he carried musicians from The
Band of the Household Cavalry;
a duty requiring calm and
consistent horses that can be
ridden with limited instruction
as the musicians largely give
direction using only their legs
while carrying their instruments.
After the last of his duties,
Viscount went to the Defence
Animal Centre before retiring
to his new home where he has
taken the mantle of “longest
serving military horse” from
Remus who also retired to the
Horse Trust in 2012.
At their Home of Rest,
the Trust has specialised in
providing retirement and
respite for working horses and
ponies for 130 years. During
the First World War, patrons of
the Trust provided the first ever
motorised horse ambulance to
help transport wounded animals
from the front line in France.
That ambulance travelled
13,000 miles in just two years
and carried more than 1,000
horses to veterinary hospitals.
The War Office commissioned
more vehicles and, by the end
of the conflict, 14 of them were
in operation in France, saving
thousands of horses’ lives.
Founded in 1886, The
Horse Trust, based at Speen,
Buckinghamshire, is the oldest
equine charity in the world.
Motor Museum on
the Road to Success
The British Motor Museum
has secured significant
funding for its future. The
transport heritage attraction
at Gaydon, in Warwickshire,
has become an Arts Council
England National Portfolio
Organisation. As a result it will
receive a total of £880,000 over
four years to fund activities and
development work.
The investment will support
two new exhibitions in 2019
and 2021, as well as the
creation of a digital platform
that will see more of the
THIS ENGLAND, Winter 2017 69

‘CORNUCOPIA’ (continued)
museum and archive collections
being accessible online. The
museum will also work with
artists, community and school
groups on a number of exciting
projects.
Tim Bryan, Head of Collections
at the museum said, “We are
delighted by the continuing
investment from Arts Council
England and the chance to join
the National Portfolio which is
recognition of the great work
undertaken by the team and
the quality of our collections
and services.”
To find out more about the
British Motor Museum go to:
www.britishmotormuseum.
co.uk, or call 01926 641188.
Tickets, please! Stars
of Steam on Show
At the Epping Ongar
Railway’s Victorian Weekend
earlier this year, visitors were
delighted to travel on two very
interesting steam locomotives.
The 120-year-old
Metropolitan Railway E Class
0-4-4T No.1 is the only one of
its kind in existence. It was built
in 1898 at Neasden, for services
on the Baker Street to Vemey
Junction line. After electrification
of the track it became
redundant and was taken over
by London Transport as No.44
in 1936. It was eventually retired
in May 1963. Rescued by the
London Railway Preservation
Trust in March 1964, the
locomotive was subsequently
restored.
The other locomotive at the
event had just been returned
to steam following a 20-year
restoration and was operating
its first passenger services. The
Costumed guides tell the story of
life on the open road at the British
Motor Museum in Warwickshire.
The Metropolitan No.1 locomotive
at the Epping Ongar Railway’s
Victorian Weekend.
British Railways Standard Class
4 tank locomotive, No. 80078,
BR 2-6-4T, was used on the
London, Tilbury and Southend
services between Fenchurch
Street and Shoeburyness until
the 1960s. Built in Brighton in
1954, it remained in service
until June 1966 ending up in
a scrapyard in Barry, South
Wales. It was rescued by the
Southern Steam Trust and
returned to steam. It has
since undergone a lengthy
overhaul and repaint in BR
black by Stewart Robinson in his
workshops at Swanage, Dorset.
SIMON MURDOCH
Memorial to Father
of English Beekeeping
The village of Wootton St.
Lawrence lies a few miles
away from Basingstoke in
Hampshire. In contrast to that
rapidly spreading “new” town,
Wootton St. Lawrence remains
a quiet, rural haven. Its church
contains an interesting stainedglass
window dedicated to the
Reverend Charles Butler, who is
known today as “the father of
English beekeeping”.
Charles Butler was born
in 1560 in High Wycombe,
Buckinghamshire. Despite
coming from a poor family,
he still managed to obtain a
place at Magdalen College,
Oxford. Initially admitted as a
working student on a scholastic
scholarship, he remained there
for 10 years studying for a
degree in arts. It is likely that he
taught there too.
In 1587, he graduated from
Oxford with his Master of Arts
degree and became rector of
the Hampshire parish of Nately
Scures in 1593. Two years later
he was also appointed as Master
of the Holy Ghost School in
nearby Basingstoke.
In 1600, Charles became
vicar of Wootton St. Lawrence
— a post he retained until his
death in 1647. There he became
interested in beekeeping and in
1609 he published the first book
in the English language on the
subject.
The Feminine Monarchie: Or
a Treatise Concerning Bees and
the Due Ordering of Them, covers
such subjects as bee hives and
swarming, feeding bees and the
value of bees as fruit pollinators.
Charles Butler popularised the
idea that the leading bee in a
hive is a queen rather than a
king, as had previously been
thought. He also found that
bees produce wax combs from
the scales of wax in their own
bodies. After being reprinted in
1623 and 1634, The Feminine
Monarchie became the most
influential book on beekeeping
for the next 250 years.
An accomplished
musicologist, Charles also wrote
The Principels of Music which
was published in 1636. He even
wrote a madrigal for four voices
entitled “The Melissomelos”. In
this he transcribed into music
the sounds made by rival queen
bees in a hive.
In 1952, the Charles Butler
Memorial Fund was established
so that a stained-glass window
could be installed in Wootton
St. Lawrence Church. At the
dedication service, his madrigal
was sung by a choir from
Worcester and Somerville
Colleges.
The stained-glass window
shows the Reverend Butler
holding a copy of his famous
book. Just above him is a
honeycomb and some bees,
while at the bottom of the
window are three old-fashioned
bee hives. A beautiful piece of
work, the window is a fitting
tribute to “the father of English
beekeeping”.
BRYAN WOODS
Tale of a Tiger’s
Revenge in Wiltshire
Acasual look around the
graveyard at Hullavington
Church might overlook the
gravestone with an unusual
poem inscribed on it. This
relates the strange and
unfortunate tale of a Wiltshire
barmaid’s fate.
Hannah Twynnoy is reputed
to be the first person to be
killed by a tiger in Britain.
She worked in the White Lion
pub in Malmesbury (now a
private house), although parish
documents up until 1700 have
Memorial window to the father
of English beekeeping in a
Hampshire church.
70 THIS ENGLAND, Winter, 2017

no record of anyone with the
surname Twynnoy.
A menagerie, which included
a tiger, was installed at the rear
of the pub in 1703 as part of a
travelling circus. According to
legend, Hannah liked to taunt
the tiger but one day it escaped
its enclosure and mauled her
to death. An unknown patron
must have paid for her plot and
gravestone; the inscription on
it reads:
In memory of
Hannah Twynnoy
Who died October 23rd 1703
Aged 33 years.
In bloom of life
She’s snatched from hence
She had not room to make
defence;
For Tyger fierce
Took life away
And here she lies
In a bed of clay
Until the Resurrection Day.
A memorial plaque was
probably paid for by the
mysterious patron too. It told
her fateful story and was lost
some time ago. In 2003 a
memorial was held on the 300th
anniversary of her death when
local schoolgirls called Hannah
laid flowers on her grave. Poor
Hannah is also remembered in
the name of Twynnoy Close in
Malmesbury. DENE BEBBINGTON
Enter an Enchanted
Garden this Christmas
No matter what your age
Christmas is a magical time
of year and English Heritage
is offering you the chance to
experience some real festive
enchantment.
The gardens at six of its
magnificent properties will be
superbly illuminated during the
A gravestone in a Wiltshire
churchyard reveals a tiger’s
revenge.
Explore the Enchanted Gardens
at several English Heritage
properties, including Brodsworth
Hall, Yorkshire, this Christmas.
©ENGLISH HERITAGE
run up to Christmas. Visitors
will embark on an enthralling
journey wending their way
through a wonderland, with
trees lit by colourful lanterns,
fairy lights twinkling amid
foliage and historic houses
bathed in dramatic light.
Along the way, history will
be imaginatively illuminated
and after exploring the
magically lit gardens, more
seasonal enjoyment is in
store as the scene is set for
a traditional fairground from
times past. Mulled wine and
mince pies will be on offer
and there’s the opportunity to
purchase some last-minute gifts.
You can discover English
Heritage’s Enchanted Gardens
at the following properties
from Friday 15th to Saturday
23rd December: Osborne, Isle
of Wight; Audley End House,
Essex; Eltham Place, London;
Kenilworth Castle, Warwickshire;
Brodsworth Hall, Yorkshire.
For further information and
full details of times, visit the
website: www.english-heritage.
org.uk .
visitor centre, has welcomed
people from as far afield as
Israel, Hong Kong, Argentina,
Switzerland and Puerto Rico
since January of this year.
Other visitors’ book entries
have come from Qatar, Ireland,
Norway, Lithuania, Malta, Nepal
and Saudi Arabia, while the
number of German visitors has
this year hit an all-time high.
Figures collected by Trustee
Andy Simpson show that while
UK visitors make up just under
three-quarters of the total,
overseas travellers are just as
keen to see this much-loved
tribute to the men of the RAF
who came to the defence of the
free world in 1940.
“It’s remarkable to see where
our visitors come from,” said
Record numbers of overseas
visitors are heading to the Battle
of Britain Memorial at Capel-le-
Ferne. BATTLE OF BRITAIN MEMORIAL TRUST
Andy. “We check the visitors’
book each month and there is
inevitably a surprise or two in
there. I was astonished when
I counted up the number of
overseas visitors in the first half
of 2017.”
The memorial, which
celebrates its 25th anniversary
next year, is also home to
the Christopher Foxley-Norris
Memorial Wall, a replica
Hurricane and Spitfire and a
shop and café.
The dramatic Wing
visitor centre, built in the
shape of a Spitfire wing,
houses interactive displays
on the Battle that changed
history. It was opened in
March 2015 by Her Majesty
The Queen, accompanied by
His Royal Highness the Duke of
Edinburgh.
Full visitor details for the
site are available at: www.
battleofbritainmemorial.org .
Battle of Britain Site
has Worldwide Appeal
AKent attraction that pays
tribute to the heroes of the
Battle of Britain was amazed
to find its visitors’ book had
notched up signatures from
nearly 50 countries in just seven
months.
The Battle of Britain
Memorial at Capel-le-Ferne,
which includes the iconic Wing
THIS ENGLAND, Winter, 2017 71

Unless stated at the end of the review, books featured on these pages are not available
direct from This England. For details of books that can be ordered from us, please see page 92.
FOR VALOUR
The Complete History of the
Victoria Cross — Volume 1,
The Crimean War
by Michael Charles Robson
(Unicorn £120 — £850 for the
eight-volume set)
ISBN 9781-9105-00811
The first of a limited
edition series totalling
eight volumes makes this the
definitive publication of the
Victoria Cross. This year is the
160th anniversary of the first
investiture by Queen Victoria
in Hyde Park and the series
differs from others by publishing
colour maps and photos
relating to the conflicts
concerned.
It began with the Crimean
War but this volume also deals
with the manufacture and
design of the medal, together
with Victoria Cross rules,
regulations and other matters.
Each volume is numbered and
limited to 800 copies.
(328pp, hardback)
THE ANATOMY OF COLOUR
The Story of Heritage Paints
and Pigments
by Patrick Baty
(Thames & Hudson £35)
ISBN 9780-5005-19332
Adazzling and comprehensive
volume illustrating the use
of paints and colours over more
than three centuries of interior
decoration. Fascinating for those
who enjoy colour.
(352pp, hardback)
THE ART OF
CARTOGRAPHICS
Designing the Modern Map
(Goodman-Carlton £30)
ISBN 9780-2330-05188
Even expert cartographers will
find something new in this
scintillating array of every kind
of map imaginable. A work of
art, it will give much pleasure to
anyone who likes studying plans
and charts in detail.
(256pp, hardback)
A late-Fifties suggestion for the use of colour comparisons and
contrasts in the home (see The Anatomy of Colour).
THE ENIGMA OF KIDSON
The Portrait of an Eton
Schoolmaster
by Jamie Blackett
(Quiller £25)
ISBN 9781-8468-92509
They don’t make teachers
like they used to, mainly
because of petty restrictions on
curriculum and pastoral care.
This is what it used to be like
and a jolly good read too.
(336pp, hardback)
THE LIVING JIGSAW
The secret life in your garden
by Val Bourne
(Amberley £14.99)
ISBN 9781-8424-66261
Splendid photography makes
this a delightful book for
all gardeners interested in the
natural flora and fauna of their
local patch and who want to
know how to enhance and
improve it.
(252pp, hardback)
A painting by Caton Woodville entitled “Charge of the Light Brigade”
depicting an unfortunate misunderstanding which took place in
October 1854 at the Battle of Balaclava during the Crimean War (see
For Valour).
72 THIS ENGLAND, Winter 2017
THE BATTLE OF
WATERLOO
by Peter and Dan Snow
(Andre Deutsch £18.99)
ISBN 9780-2330-05133
Wonderfully illustrated
with many contemporary
paintings in full colour, this is a
superb account of a battle which
changed history. Maps and pen
portraits of the key officers add
to its wider attraction.
(160pp, hardback)
One of many fine colour
pictures in The Living Jigsaw.

St. Nonna’s church at Altarnun near
Bodmin Moor in Cornwall, where
the local vicar figured prominently
in Daphne du Maurier’s novel
Jamaica Inn (see English Parish
Churches and Chapels).
ENGLISH PARISH
CHURCHES AND CHAPELS
Architecture, Art and People
by Matthew Byrne
(Bloomsbury £20)
ISBN 9781-7844-22394
Sponsored by the National
Churches Trust this is a
splendidly illustrated volume
detailing 26 buildings from Saxon
to modern times, covering both
rural and urban parts of the
country. Highly recommended.
(192pp, hardback)
English Parish Churches and
Chapels is available by post
from This England. For further
details see page 92.
ANCIENT OAKS
in the English Landscape
by Aljos Farjon
(Kew Gardens £30)
ISBN 9781-8424-66407
Believe it or not, England has
more ancient native oak
trees than the rest of Europe
combined, and this is the
colourful history of their majestic
arboreal culture.
(192pp, hardback)
MOVING HEAVEN AND
EARTH
Capability Brown’s Gift of
Landscape
by Steffie Shields
(Unicorn £30)
ISBN 9781-9107-87151
Aremarkable man who
created many fine
landscapes, none of which,
ironically, had matured by the
time he died in 1783. With
supporting images, the author
explains all you need to know
about how his extensive gardens
and estates were designed.
(288pp, hardback)
A natural pollard oak in Sherwood
Forest, Nottinghamshire (see
Ancient Oaks).
THE YORKSHIRE COUNTRY
HOUSE
A tour through the county’s
grandest homes
by Peter Tuffrey
(Great Northern £19.99)
ISBN 9781-9121-01672
An excellent well-illustrated
account of 32 stately homes
with pictures of a further 12
since demolished. Memorable
images of past and present.
(196pp, hardback)
Newby Hall and Garden (see The Yorkshire Country House).
Grotto Island and the Octagon Temple at Wotton in Buckinghamshire
(see Moving Heaven and Earth, Capability Brown’s Gift of Landscape).
A WEEK ON THE BROADS
Four Victorian gents at sail on
a Norfolk gaffer in 1889
by S.K. Baker
(Bloomsbury £10)
ISBN 9781-4729-45316
Published in the same year
as Three Men in a Boat this
is a remarkably similar but
true account of four men in
a boat, one of whom kept an
illustrated diary reproduced
here as an excellent facsimile. A
most amusing read, it is also a
fascinating insight into the social
habits of the time.
(94pp, hardback)
Male bathing costumes had yet
to be invented when this 1889
cartoon was drawn (see A Week
on the Broads).
FAVOURITE POEMS OF
ENGLAND
edited by Jane McMorland Hunter
(Batsford £12.99)
ISBN 9781-8499-44595
This is a terrific collection. The
choice of poems is perfect and
covers every aspect of English life,
from country cottages and rural
traditions to the many different
cultures of urban life. All our top
poets are represented and the
illustrations are brilliant.
(176pp, paperback)
Favourite Poems of England
is available by post from This
England. For further details see
page 92.
THE GREAT CENTRAL
RAILWAY
by Michael Vanns
(Pen & Sword £19.99)
ISBN 9781-4738-92125
An excellent railway heritage
guide with terrific photos
and informative text, a treat for
all historians who enjoy looking
at the past but also recreating it
in the present.
(110pp, hardback)
THE REAL PERSUASION
Portrait of a real-life Jane
Austen heroine
by Peter James Bowman
(Amberley £20)
ISBN 9781-4456-59503
Katherine Bisshopp of
Sussex was the real-life
equivalent of Anne Elliot in
Persuasion and this is a wellresearched
comparison of fact
and fiction.
(308pp, hardback)
Tom Tower at Christ Church,
Oxford, was built by Christopher
Wren in 1682 and is one of many
splendid images to be found in
Favourite Poems of England.
THIS ENGLAND, Winter, 2017 73

‘ENGLISH BOOKS’ (continued)
LAWRIE BOND —
MICROCAR MAN
by Nick Wotherspoon
(Pen & Sword £30)
ISBN 9781-4738-58688
Described on the cover as
“An illustrated history of
Bond cars” this bright and
colourful book is a motor
enthusiast’s delight. Packed full
of high-quality images, it traces
the prototype right through to
the popular sport and racing
models. The cheaper versions
were readily affordable to those
unable to move higher up the
automobile market and perhaps
the Bond Bug is the bestremembered.
There were many
others, however, and all are
included in this gem.
(308pp, hardback)
QE2
A 50th Anniversary
Celebration
by Chris Frame and Rachelle Cross
(History Press £25)
ISBN 9780-7509-70280
Alarge and lavish volume,
befitting a lady of her age
and fame. The many pictures
tell her life story, from launch in
1967 through to retirement in
2008, with the whole wide world
in between.
(192pp, hardback)
The first Bond Minicar (above)
was a very different proposition
to the later two-litre Equipe sports
model (left) which was widely
advertised abroad (see Lawrie
Bond, Microcar Man).
THE HORSE BOOK
by Kathleen Walker-Meikle
(Shire £8.99)
ISBN 9781-4729-30842
Equine connoisseurs will be
pleased with this miscellany
of horses past and present, with
many compelling pictures and
anecdotes.
(144pp, hardback)
Roy Rogers and his faithful equine
companion, Trigger, who learned
more than 100 tricks (see The
Horse Book).
THE TEMPLARS
The Rise and Fall of God’s Holy
Warriors
by Dan Jones
(Head of Zeus £25)
ISBN 9781-7818-58912
Hope, fanaticism, bravery,
treachery and betrayal all
figure in this account of the
Knights Templars, in which the
author chronicles the wealthiest,
most powerful and secretive of
military orders.
(494pp, paperback)
First published in 1915,
An Alphabet of T.O.T. (Train,
Omnibus and Tram) is a great
little book of iconic Edwardian
cartoons, and there is no need
to be a transport enthusiast
to enjoy it. (London Transport
Museum, 32pp, paperback,
£5.99)
ISBN 9781-8718-29266
Football enthusiasts will
welcome The Title, the
Story of the First Division
in which Scott Murray cherry
picks memorable photos,
players and events from
1888 until the creation of
the Premier League in 1992.
(Bloomsbury, 344pp, hardback,
£16.99)
ISBN 9781-4729-36615
Women in the Great
War by Stephen and
Tanya Wynn is an excellent
appreciation of the work
and achievement of the
fairer sex during this terrible
world conflict. (Pen &
Sword, 144pp, paperback,
£12.99)
ISBN 9781-4738-344149
From Nationalisation
to Privatisation, My Life
on British Railways tells
of Jack Turner‘s progression
from railway cleaner to
fireman, signalman and finally
chief operation inspector.
Several interesting personal
stories bring the book alive.
(Jacett, 224pp, paperback,
£12.95)
ISBN 9780-9576-87103
Natasha Sheldon’s The
Little Book of Leicestershire
is crammed with facts and
anecdotes which make it
a great bedtime read for
everyone. (History Press, 192pp,
hardback, £9.99)
ISBN 9780-7509-67341
Letter D is for “Driver” and U
is for “Underground” (see An
Alphabet of T.O.T.).
The Story of Kent by
Anne Petrie relates the
unfolding history of the
county we know as “The
Garden of England” where
royalty, intrigue and hostile
invaders have never been far
away. (History Press, 224pp,
paperback, £16.99)
ISBN 9780-7509-67471
The majestic Queen Elizabeth 2 near the Opera House at Sydney Harbour (see QE2).
74 THIS ENGLAND, Winter, 2017

Once a common sight at engine
sheds, there are now just a
handful of preserved turntables
left in operation (see The Golden
Age of Yorkshire Railways).
In The Golden Age of
Yorkshire Railways, Peter
Tuffrey has assembled a large
collection of high-quality black
and white images, all social
action shots, thus recreating
the time when trains were the
major form of transport. Highly
recommended. (Great Northern,
192pp, hardback, £19.99)
ISBN 9781-9121-01726
By way of contrast, Martyn
Hilbert’s Network North West
is a full-colour assessment of
recent changes on the railways
of Lancashire and Cheshire.
(Fonthill, 128pp, paperback,
£14.99)
ISBN 9781-7815-56115
Building Stones and Stone
Buildings of Staffordshire by
P.A. Floyd may sound a narrow
field but geologists and all
interested in building materials
will soon discover its relevance.
(Arthur Stockwell, 348pp,
paperback, £14.95)
ISBN 9780-7223-45436
Lost Warriors is a truly
devastating account of Major
Hugh Seagrim and Cpl. Roy
Pagani, the latter the only
person to successfully escape
from the dreaded Burma
Death Railway during the
Second World War. Both men
are heroes, Seagrim, an SOE
secret agent, helped the Karen
Christian community in Burma
but paid for it with his life,
while Pagani, who also escaped
from Dunkirk and Singapore,
somehow made it back to
England. A harrowing but
worthy read. (Atlantic, 278pp,
hardback, £20)
ISBN 9781-9092-42852
Marianne North, a very
intrepid painter is an exquisite
collection of paintings by a
remarkable Victorian artist who
travelled the world, leaving a
legacy unparalleled in botanical
research. Most of her work is
housed at Kew Gardens and
is breathtaking in its colour,
content and style. (Kew, 96pp,
hardback, £15)
ISBN 9781-8424-66087
Edited by Iain Hollingshead,
Stop the World, I Want to
Get Off is a superb collection
of unpublished letters to The
Daily Telegraph. There is no
better way of relaxing after a
long day than to sit down and
have a quiet chuckle whilst
browsing the wit and sarcasm
of our fellow countrymen and
women. Highly entertaining!
(Aurum, 192pp, hardback,
£9.99)
ISBN 9781-7813-15453
Racing cars at full throttle (see Formula One Circuits from Above).
In Pit Boy to Prime Minister,
Graham Bebbington traces
the life of Joseph Cook, who
was born in Staffordshire
and became a trade union
leader before emigrating and
becoming Conservative prime
minister of Australia. (4edge,
100pp, paperback, £15)
ISSN 0950-7345
Formula One Circuits from
Above by Bruce Jones is a large
coffee table book detailing 28
legendary race tracks in glorious
colour, from both aerial and
normal views. Supported by
masses of facts and figures this
is a must for every motor racing
aficionado but will also please
everyone who enjoys maps.
(Carlton, 224pp, hardback, £25)
ISBN 9781-7809-79830
British Railways in the
1960s: The Southern Region
is a wonderful book of full-page
colour photos by Geoff Plumb,
which locospotters of the other
three regions will also enjoy.
A top transport book in every
sense. (Pen & Sword, 168pp,
hardback, £25)
ISBN 9781-4738-23938
A rare double coconut tree in the
Seychelles, one of many superb
images to be found in Marianne
North, a very intrepid painter.
Three trains, a Portsmouth paddle steamer and, in the foreground,
tramway tracks, all still in operation in 1964 at Ryde Pier on the Isle of
Wight (see British Railways in the 1960s — Southern Region).
The Hurricane and
Mosquito Pocket Manuals
describe the production and
full listings of all the aircraft
produced for each marque
during the Second World War.
(Conway/Bloomsbury, 144pp,
hardback, £18.99)
ISBNS 9781-8448-863044
9781-8448-863068
A magnificent contrast between
old and new at Wigan Wallgate
station. In the background is the
former Coops clothing factory
which opened in the mid-19th
century and supplied military
uniforms. Closed in 1990 the
building is now a business centre
(see Network North West).
THIS ENGLAND, Winter, 2017 75

English Diary WINTER 2017
1 NOVEMBER
© Illustration by Quentin Blake
from The Folio Society edition
of The Hunting of the Snark. An
Agony, in Eight Fits by Lewis
Carroll, 1976.
Exhibition: “The Artful Book:
70 Years of The Folio Society”,
Victoria & Albert Museum,
Cromwell Road, Knightsbridge,
London SW7 2RL. The Folio
Society has been producing
beautifully illustrated editions of
the world’s greatest books since
1947. They believe that the
literary content of a book should
be matched by its physical form
and this exhibition celebrates
the Society’s rich legacy.
To 28th January 2018.
www.vam.ac.uk
17
22
Winter Wonderland, Hyde
Park, London W2 2UH. Skate
on the largest outdoor ice rink
in the UK or visit a world full
of magical ice sculptures. Have
a drink in an Ancient Greek
temple made entirely of ice
or take a ride on the Great
Observation Wheel. These
are just a few of the many
attractions on offer. To 1st January
2018. Further details visit
hydeparkwinterwonderland.com
Christmas at Kew, Royal
Botanic Gardens, Kew,
Richmond, London TW9 3AE.
A mile-long trail through the
famous botanic garden lit
with more than 60,000 lights.
Highlights include a choir of
Christmas trees, a sparkling
tunnel of light, giant baubles,
Santa and a spectacular light,
music and water display in
front of the Palm House.
To 1st January 2018.
Tel: 0208 332 5655;
www.kew.org
1 DECEMBER
11
YORKMIX
Living Advent Calendar,
various venues, York. Twentyfive
locations in the city reveal
a different window display each
day. Vote for your favourite
and the winning business gets
£1,000 to give to a charity of
their choosing. To 25th.
www.visityork.org
Christmas Tree Festival, St.
Mary’s Church, 8 Burton Street,
Melton Mowbray, Leicestershire
LE13 1AE. Now in its 15th year,
this is the largest festival of
decorated trees in the country.
There will be hundreds
of originally themed trees
designed by schools,
businesses and organisations.
To 5th. Tel: 01664 565798.
GRAHAM GOUGH
Grassington Dickensian
Festival, Grassington, Yorkshire.
This lovely village in the heart of
the Yorkshire Dales turns back
the clock to the Victorian era
with shopkeepers and villagers
donning period costumes.
There will be a torchlit Nativity
procession, street entertainment,
Christmas market — and of
course Santa will be there too.
11am–5pm. To 10th. www.
grassingtondickensian.co.uk
Santa Specials, Swanage
Railway, Station House, Station
Approach, Swanage, Dorset
BH19 1HB. A ride on a steam
train with a present for every
child and the chance to meet
Santa make this a special festive
treat. Running at weekends and
some weekdays to 24th.
Further details from
www.swanagerailway.co.uk
15
Exhibition: “Monochrome:
Painting in Black and White”,
National Gallery, Trafalgar
Square, London WC2N 5DN.
The first major exhibition of
the art of “grisaille” — painting
using predominantly black and
white pigments. Case studies
reveal where and when this style
was used from early religious
works to paintings emulating
sculpture or other media such
as photography and film. The
exhibition includes paintings
on glass, vellum, silk and
wood by such famous artists as
Rembrandt and Picasso.
To 18th February 2018.
www.nationalgallery.org.uk
Christmas Fair, Waddesdon
Manor, Aylesbury,
Buckinghamshire HP18 0JH.
More than 60 exhibitors offering
a selection of festive food and
unusual gifts. Open Wednesday
to Sunday, 11am–6pm.
To 10th December.
Tel: 01296 820414.
27
30
Lancashire Day. County-wide
celebrations from the River
Duddon in the north to the
River Mersey in the south.
For details of events see
www.forl.co.uk
Newburgh Priory Christmas
Fair, Newburgh, Coxwold, North
Yorkshire YO61 4AS. A charity
event in support of juvenile
arthritis, this fair offers a wide
range of gifts, art, Christmas
trees and decorations.
Tel: 01347 868372.
12
Lincolnshire Food and Gift
Fair, Lincolnshire Showground,
Grange-de-Lings, Lincoln
LN2 2NA. One of the largest
Christmas fairs in the country
with more than 150 exciting
and varied stands — all indoors!
With locally produced food and
gifts this is the perfect chance
to stock up on festive gifts and
food. Other attractions include
hands-on crafts, children’s
activities in Santa’s workshop,
cookery demonstrations, and
entertainment from choirs.
Open 9am–4pm. To 3rd. Further
details and tickets visit https://
lincolnshireshowground.co.uk
16
12
Christmas Tree Festival,
St. Andrew’s Parish Church,
Upper Church Lane, Farnham,
Surrey GU9 7PW. More than
100 decorated trees, musical
entertainment and refreshments.
Open 10am–5pm (Sunday
12–5pm). To 10th.
www.standrewsfarnham.org
London International Horse
Show, Olympia, Hammersmith,
London W14 8UX. World-class
equestrian competition and
outstanding displays. Attractions
include dog agility, Shetland
Pony Grand National and
demonstrations of harmony
between horse and rider by the
Chilean Huasos. To 18th.
Tel: 0871 230 5580.
76 THIS ENGLAND, Winter, 2017

21
Burning the Clocks, Madeira
Drive, Brighton, East Sussex
BN2 1PS. Marking the shortest
day of the year, all shapes and
sizes of lanterns are paraded
through the streets before being
burnt on the beach. Parade
starts at 6.30pm with a firework
finale to celebrate the start of
longer days. Tel: 01273 571106.
24
Christmas Eve
Festival of Nine Lessons and
Carols, King’s College Chapel,
King’s Parade, Cambridge
CB2 1ST. First broadcast in
1928, the service is now heard
by millions around the world.
The opening carol is always
“Once in Royal David’s City”
and the service always includes
a new, specially commissioned
carol. There are limited seats
so hours of queuing will be
necessary. Starts 3pm.
Tel: 01223 331100.
25 Christmas Day
Peter Pan Cup Race, Hyde Park,
London W2 2UH. Members
of the Serpentine Swimming
Club swim their traditional
100yd Christmas Day race.
The competition has been held
since 1864 and the swimmers
compete for a cup that was
donated by J.M. Barrie in 1904.
The race takes place from the
south bank of the lake and starts
at 9am.
26 Boxing Day
MATTHEW ANDREWS
Fireworks Spectacular, River
Thames, London. The London
Eye and the riverbanks are
transformed at the stroke of
midnight by a dazzling display.
Please note: This popular event
is ticketed, available from
www.london.gov.uk/nye
18
19
Floodlit Swan Suppers, WWT
Slimbridge Wetland Centre,
Slimbridge, Gloucestershire
GL2 7BT. Experience the sight
and sound of hundreds of
swans on a floodlit lake before
enjoying a two-course meal.
To 20th. Tel: 01453 891223.
1 FEBRUARY
13
MATTHEW ANDREWS
Lumiere London, various venues, London. See the capital in a whole
new light as more than 40 world-class UK and international artists
illuminate public spaces on both sides of the Thames. This free event
is designed to lift the spirits in the dark days of winter and includes
Westminster Abbey, The National Theatre, King’s Cross, Covent Garden
and Waterloo. To 21st.
Snowdrop Open Days,
Colesbourne Park,
Colesbourne, near Cheltenham,
Gloucestershire GL53 9NP.
Described as “England’s greatest
snowdrop garden” by Country
Life. There are 350 varieties
set in 10-acre gardens.
To 4th. Also open 10th–11th;
24th–25th and 3rd–4th March.
Tel: 01242 870567;
www.colesbournegardens.org.uk
Boxing Day Dip, Whitby,
North Yorkshire. For the last
45 years intrepid swimmers
have braved the icy waters of
the North Sea to raise money
for local charities. Starts
10am. Further details visit
www.whitbylions.org
31 New Year’s Eve
Winter Festival, Monument —
Newcastle City Centre NE1 6JG.
A free event with an amazing
torchlight procession and many
other attractions. From 4.30pm;
parade at around 5.15pm with
a dazzling firework finale at
midnight. Tel: 0191 4405720.
11
10
JANUARY
New Year’s Day Parade,
Piccadilly to Parliament Square,
London. More than 10,000
musicians, dancers, marching
bands, historic vehicles and
entertainers parade
through the streets in this
colourful celebration of the
new year. Starts 12 noon;
www.visitlondon.com
London Boat Show, ExCel,
One Western Gateway,
Royal Victoria Dock, London
E16 1XL. More than 500
exhibitors showcase the best
in watercraft innovations,
equipment and holidays. Boats
of all shapes and sizes from
kayaks to super-yachts will be
on display, and there is also the
opportunity to try immersive
and interactive experiences.
To 14th. Tel: 0844 776 7766.
27
MICHAEL EDWARDS
Peace Proms, Echo Arena
Liverpool, Kings Dock, Liverpool
Waterfront L3 4FP. A celebration
of culture and diversity with the
aim of promoting peace and
tolerance through music.
Tel: 0844 8000 400.
Exhibition: “Charles I: King
and Collector”, Royal Academy
of Arts, Burlington House,
Piccadilly, Mayfair, London W1J
0BD. Charles I amassed one
of the most extraordinary art
collections of the age but after
his death this was sold off and
scattered around the world.
Now, for the first time since the
17th century, masterpieces from
this magnificent collection are
reunited. To 15th April.
Tel: 020 7300 8090;
www.royalacademy.org.uk
14
MICHAEL PRESTON/ALAMY STOCK PHOTO
Dalston Clowns’ Service, Holy
Trinity Church, Beechwood
Road, London E8 3DY. The
service commemorates the life
of Joseph Grimaldi, the “father”
of the modern clown. Expect
a congregation wearing heavy
make-up and baggy trousers
and a laughter-filled service
complete with squirting flowers
and pedal-cars in the nave!
Tel: 020 7254 5062.
14 St. Valentine’s Day
THIS ENGLAND, Winter, 2017 77

ANNOUNCEMENTS AND NOTICES
To advertise or for more information call:
Bryn Piper on 020 7400 1050 or e-mail bpiper@dcthomson.co.uk This England Advertisements, 185 Fleet Street, London, EC4A 2HS, England.
Lineage rates: £1.25 per word, £1.00 for Back Issues; Box Ads Rate: £30 per single column centimetre (prices excluding VAT) Copy date for Spring 2018: 5th January 2018.
Back Issues
This England 1968-2016. £100. Buyer to
collect. Tel: 0208 399 4441.
This England Back Issues for sale — from
single copies to complete sets. All enquiries
welcomed. Tel: 01522 702425.
E-mail: woodhall67@btinternet.com
Books/Literary
Book binding, restoration, conservation and
custom made binding. Private collections
to unique wedding gifts. Cummins Farm,
Stockland, Honiton, Devon, EX14 9EZ.
Tel: 07876063997.
Email: rebecca@newmanbookbinding.co.uk
Website: www.newmanbookbinding.co.uk
‘Forever England’
The Soldier set to beautiful photographs of
Devon. £3.99 plus p&p. UK 75p, Europe
£2.45, U.S.A./Canada £3.30, AUS/NZ
£3.30. Send cheque to S. Lethbridge, Elgin,
Weirfields, Totnes, Devon, England TQ9 5JS.
Independent book publishers helping writers
into print for 50 years. Details:
Email: mail@unitedwriters.co.uk or
UWP Ltd, Ailsa, Castle Gate, Penzance,
TR20 8BG.
Authors invited to submit
manuscripts all categories
including poetry
New Authors welcome
A.H. STOCKWELL LTD,
Dept. 152,
Ilfracombe,
Devon, EX34 8BA.
Tel 01271 862557
Fax 01271 862988
Publishers for 100 Years
www.ahstockwell.co.uk
Collecting
For Sale, 6 Valiant Comics from 1964. 11
Classics illustrated. 60 Look and Learn from
1962-65. £50.
Tel: 01656 729 617.
Crafts & Gifts
Parades may be over but remembrance is
important. Complete medal mounting service,
accessories, miniatures, etc. Ex-serviceman
who knows his business. Home Counties
Medal Services, 53 Bodiam Crescent,
Hampden Park, Eastbourne, BN22 9HQ.
Tel: 01323 506012.
Genealogy
Ancestors can trace your family history
world-wide more economically and efficiently.
Consult the best for a “total peace of mind”
money back guarantee. For a free estimate
and brochure write to: Ancestors Professional
Genealogy Service, 11 Crosbie Road,
Harborne, Birmingham B17 9BG.
Tel: 0121 2464260.
E-mail: ancestors_janet@hotmail.com
Your Ancestors Found: Retired school
inspector, Cambridge history graduate,
genealogist for 40 years, researches and
or small. Phone 01730 812232 for brochure,
sample report and free estimate.
Ledbury (Herefordshire) — 5 charming
self-catering cottages sleeping 2-5. Tranquil
countryside setting ideal for walking, touring,
relaxing. Free WiFi and parking.
Tel: 01531 670349.
Website: www.whitehousecottages.co.uk
Morpeth (Northumberland) — Two peaceful,
spacious and comfortable country cottages.
Sleep 4 & 6. Sorry, no pets.
Brochure Tel: 01661 881241.
Website: www.gallowhillcottages.co.uk
ROSS-ON-WYE — Herefordshire. 2 lovely
s/c bungalows, sleeps 2/4, in the heart of the
beautiful Wye Valley. A real home from home
— sorry no pets.
Tel: 01989 566301.
Email: marjo1940@hotmail.co.uk
Suffolk. Coast 3 miles. 2 cottages each
sleeps 2 adults. En-Suite B&B also available.
Tel: 01728 648377.
Website: www.suffolk-selfcatering.co.uk
WELSH BORDER
Hideaway on our quiet farm. Two
delightful properties sleeping 7 & 14,
plus cots. Groundfloor wheelchair
user friendly & hearing-loops in
large house. Indoor swimming-pool.
Games room.
Tel:
01544 260237
Website:
www.hicksfarmholidays.co.uk
Professional research carried out to
the highest standards. Competitive
prices — free assessments.
Send for your FREE brochure:
Debrett Ancestry
Research Ltd (TE),
PO Box 379,
Winchester
Devon/Somerset borders
family farm
Peaceful scenic location for
touring Exmoor, coasts and
historic houses.
Renowned for friendliness,
comfort and delicious food.
ETB
B&B £32 per night.
Dinner optional
Tel: Ann Heard 01398 361 296.
Website: lowerwestcottfarm.co.uk
SO23 9YQ.
SUSSEX — Peacehaven
Tel: 01962 841904.
www.debrettancestry.co.uk
Ground floor flat, private
entrance, parking, sleeps two.
Cliff walks 200 yards. Frequent
buses to Brighton and Eastbourne.
Ideally situated for exploring
surrounding countryside.
VISIT ENGLAND:
“Quality in Tourism”
Grade 4 awarded
Tel: 01273 587365
E-mail: juliette.payne@yahoo.co.uk
Holidays/Accommodation
Ferring, Worthing on beach. Luxurious
Bungalow. Sleeps 2/6. Dogs love it! Prices for
two from £575 low season.
Tel: 077703 90677 or
E-mail: christopherfogg@email.com
78 THIS ENGLAND, Winter, 2017

ANNOUNCEMENTS AND NOTICES
THIS ENGLAND, Winter, 2017 79

ANNOUNCEMENTS AND NOTICES
Wanted
Boy scout & girl guide badges & memorabilia
wanted by collector. Peter Maryniak, 27 Stowe
Walk, Northampton NN3 6EE.
Tel: 01604452156.
Email: peter.maryniak@virginmedia.com
Collector/Carpenter — Woodworking hand
tools. Tel: 01780 751768. B. Jackson,
10 Ayr Close, Stamford, Lincs. PE9 2TS.
Old clocks and watches parts, tools,
anything. Also coins.
Tel: 01933 624296.
Postcards pre 1950 small or large
collections required by a keen collector.
Jenkins, Flat 4, The Beehives, 1 Jumpers
Road, Christchurch, BH23 2JR.
Stamp Collections and postcards wanted by
keen collector. Pre 1950. Tel: 01684 773173
Lane, Nr. Aston on Carrant, Tewkesbury,
Gloucestershire, GL20 8HJ.
Wanted old radio valves and audio valves.
Any amount. Buyer will collect or pay postage.
please phone Alan on 02392 251062.
Whitbread Miniature Inn signs wanted by
collector. Metal or card, also black and white
business cards. Also, East & West Kent
metal maps.
Tel: Colin 07788 524 400.
This England
Christmas Cards
We have changed the format for
our Christmas cards this year, they
are a larger size and glossy!
Each pack contains 12 cards (4 designs,
3 cards of each) with envelopes and comes
with the simple message: “With all good
wishes for Christmas and the New Year”.
To advertise
in these pages
please call
0207 400 1050
Size 7" x 5"
One pack: Code: MTC17
Just £10 to UK,
overseas £12.
US $24; Can $26; Aus $27; NZ $31.
Two packs: Code: MTC72
Just £16 to UK,
overseas £21.
US $42; Can $44; Aus $47; NZ $54.
0800 074 0188 (FREE from UK landlines)
Mon-Fri 8am-6pm, Sat 9am-5pm overseas: +44 1382 575052
This England Publishing Ltd., P.O. Box 814,
Haywards Heath, Sussex RH16 9LQ.
www.thisengland.co.uk
GOD SHALL SEND JESUS CHRIST
(Acts 3 v 20)
To receive a sample copy of this quarterly
magazine, write or e-mail the address below:
The Ensign Trust, Newton Institute,
Long’s Court, London WC1H 7EL
Email - editor@ensignmessage.com
The Near Return of Jesus Christ,
What of the Future?, Israel a Sign to this Generation,
A Statement of the Faith.
The Local Secretary,
The Ecclesia of Christ, 149 Browns Lane,
Stanton-on-the-Wolds, Keyworth,
Nottm NG12 5BN
80 THIS ENGLAND, Winter, 2017

ANNOUNCEMENTS AND NOTICES
THIS ENGLAND, Winter, 2017 81

This England Gifts
A selection of gifts from This England and Evergreen
Gifts
Winter 2017
From Northumberland, Yorkshire and Cumberland, through
Staffordshire, Leicestershire and Shropshire, to Devon,
Cornwall, Sussex and Kent, England’s 40 traditional counties
are a colourful patchwork, a tapestry created over hundreds of
years by geography, history and the men and women who have
lived and worked within their boundaries. Each one is different
from its neighbour, with its own story to tell, its own landscape,
its own customs and traditions, its own cities, towns and villages
and its own distinctive character and flavour.
100pp, softback
Just
£6.99
to UK
This 100-page magazine is a celebration of England’s historic
counties (no Cumbria or Merseyside here!), with a feature devoted
to each one, and illustrated throughout with stunning colour
photographs. Descriptions of the main characteristics of the county
are accompanied by details of the major towns and cities, historic
sites, local customs and curiosities, regional food and drink, and a
selection of fascinating facts. There are also panels highlighting some
of the famous people who hail from each county and a series of
“county quotations” from writers and poets.
One copy Code: TECOU Just £6.99 to UK
overseas £9.25. US $19; Can $20; Aus $21; NZ $24.
SPECIAL OFFER
Two copies of A CELEBRATION
OF THE TRADITIONAL
COUNTIES OF ENGLAND
Code: TECO2
Just £12 to UK, overseas £16.
US $32; Can $34; Aus $36; NZ $41.
POST: This England Publishing Ltd., P.O. Box 814, Haywards Heath, Sussex RH16 9LQ.
See order form on page 97
82 THIS ENGLAND, Winter, 2017

This England Gifts
Royal Gift Selection
Royal Wedding Anniversary Cotton Tea Towel
A commemorative tea towel to celebrate the 70th wedding
anniversary of HM Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip.
The Royal couple will celebrate their Platinum Wedding
Anniversary on 20th November 2017.
The classic and beautiful tea towel is made in the UK from 100%
cotton and has a subtle metallic design throughout.
Code: MANTT
Just
£12
UK delivery
only
Editor’s
Choice
Happy & Glorious
A tribute to Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II
In this lavish publication, produced to mark the Queen’s
90th birthday, readers will be able to follow her journey
from her birth in the fashionable Mayfair district of
London, through all the different aspects of her life —
childhood, service with the ATS, marriage to Prince Philip,
the Coronation, motherhood etc. — right up to reaching
this memorable milestone in 2016.
Code: TE90S
Just £6.99 to UK,
overseas £9.25. US $19; Can $20; Aus $21; NZ $24.
Queen Elizabeth II Tea Caddy
Handsome tea caddy with elegant offi cial
photographs of Her Majesty the Queen.
The caddy contains 40 teabags of classic
blended English Breakfast Tea — a full-fl avour,
refreshing blend of 100% Ceylon tea, packed
in sealed foil pouches to retain freshness.
A perfect English gift!
Code: MRJTC
Just £7.95 to UK,
overseas £9.95. US $20; Can $21; Aus $22; NZ $26.
PHONE: 0800 074 0188 (FREE from UK landlines) Mon-Fri 8am-6pm, Sat 9am-5pm.
Overseas: +44 1382 575052
ONLINE: www.thisengland.co.uk
THIS ENGLAND, Winter, 2017 83

This England Gifts
LONDON:
HIDDEN INTERIORS
An English Heritage Book
Behind London’s many inscrutable
façades lies a wealth of treasures
little known to the world outside.
London: Hidden Interiors describes
and vividly illustrates 180 extraordinary
examples, which have been selected
from a complete range of building
types — including palaces and private
houses, places of worship and work,
gentlemen’s clubs, hotels and theatres
as well as some of London’s most
historic shops and most unusual
museums — to portray the richness
and diversity of London’s architectural
heritage, and the secrets that lie within.
The 1,700 images from English
Heritage and authoritative text offer the
reader a unique opportunity to see what
lies behind closed doors.
(448pp, hardback)
‘A remarkable exploration of the grand, the humble, the quirky
and the previously undiscovered … A magnificent eye-opening
collection.’ — THIS ENGLAND
‘I am dazzled —
positively dazzled …
this is my book of the
year.’ — BILL BRYSON
‘… London’s interiors
sparkle. A stunning
photographic tour of
treasures of the capital.’
— THE TIMES
‘Open it anywhere and dream awhile in some of the world’s
most gorgeous spaces.’ — DAILY EXPRESS
Code: LHINT
RRP £50, This England readers pay just £30 incl. p&p.
UK delivery only
PHONE: 0800 074 0188 (FREE from UK landlines) Mon-Fri 8am-6pm, Sat 9am-5pm.
Overseas: +44 1382 575052
ONLINE: www.thisengland.co.uk
84 THIS ENGLAND, Winter, 2017

This England Gifts
LOST LONDON 1870-1945
A unique portrait of
London’s past
A spectacular collection of more than 500 photographs
from the archives of English Heritage (now Historic
England) providing a unique record of whole districts of
London as they were vanishing. Each of the photographs is
a full-plate image, a stunning work of art in its own right.
Lost London 1870-1945 is about the lost buildings
and streets and about why some have remained and
fl ourished while others have been swept away, but this
is not a nostalgic lament for a lost city. Written by Philip
Davies, an expert who has been involved in planning and
development in London for over 35 years, the book offers
authoritative insights into the way London has developed
and changed since the Victorian age. (368pp, hardback)
‘This is a beautiful, haunting and heartbreaking
book.’ — DAN CRUICKSHANK
‘Here are 360 pages of sustained shock and awe…
in pin sharp clarity.’ — THE TIMES
Philip Davies
Foreword by HRH The Duke of Gloucester
‘An endlessly absorbing book that is at once a record
of destruction, a haunting collection of relics and a
door into the past.’ — SUNDAY TIMES
‘An extraordinary — and sometimes upsetting — record of the capital’s architectural richness.’ —
SUNDAY TELEGRAPH
Code: LOSTL
RRP £50, This England readers pay just £30 incl. p&p.
UK delivery only
POST: This England Publishing Ltd., P.O. Box 814, Haywards Heath, Sussex RH16 9LQ.
See order form on page 97
THIS ENGLAND, Winter, 2017 85

This England Gifts
VIRGINIA HAYWARD HAMPERS
We have teamed up with Virginia Haywards, a family-owned company from Dorset,
and are delighted to present their wonderful range of Christmas hampers to suit
every taste and budget.
CHRISTMAS TO A TEA
Mrs. Bridge’s Christmas preserve, mini iced Christmas cake and all butter
shortbread stars all play their part in making this hamper live up to its
name — Christmas to a Tea!
Contents: Christmas Chocolate Cracker 100g, Four
Anjels Shortbread Stars 100g, Gold Crown Mini Top
Iced Loaf, Mrs Bridge’s Christmas Preserve 113g,
New English Teas English Breakfast Tea Vintage
Selection 20g, Red Jute Bag.
Code: 82100
Just
£24
UK delivery
only
NON ALCOHOLIC NIBBLES
A collection of tasty non-alcoholic treats.
Choose from Cambrook caramelised peanuts, luxurious crumbly butter fudge or
flavoursome lemon & rosemary olives with a glass or
two of alcohol free fizz! Perfect to enjoy on cosy winter
evenings.
Contents: Border Sweet Memories Butterscotch Crunch
Biscuits 150g, Cambrook Brilliantly Caramelised Sesame
Peanuts 45g, Linden Lady Handmade Giant Milk
Chocolate Buttons 100g, Oloves Lemon & Rosemary
Natural Green Pitted Olives 30g, Radfords Handmade
West Country Crumbly Butter.
Code: 82115
Just
£37.50
UK delivery
only
CHRISTMAS EVE BOX
If you would like to bring a little fun to someone’s Christmas, then
look no further. This festively decorated gift box includes an array of
mouth-watering treats that will be a perfect start to Christmas
celebrations!
Contents: Baru Swirly Hot Chocolate Powder with
Chocolate Figurines 250g, Buttermilk Mince Pie Fudge
100g, Chloe’s Christmas Stars Biscuits 125g, Mini
Mallows 100g, 2 x Mini Candy Cane 12g, Stas Small
Milk Chocolate Bauble 75g, nibnibs Fruit & Nuts 100g,
Decorative Box.
Code: 82110
Just
£35
UK delivery
only
FOR ALL HAMPERS: ORDER NOW FOR DELIVERY IN DECEMBER
POST: This England Publishing Ltd., P.O. Box 814, Haywards Heath, Sussex RH16 9LQ.
See order form on page 97
86 THIS ENGLAND, Winter, 2017

WHITE CHRISTMAS
Our White Christmas hamper really does live
up to its name.
Inside the frosty-looking, white wooden
crate you’ll find a range of delicious
delights including handmade crunchy
chocolate pretzels, Matthew Walker
Christmas Pudding and cranberry
popcorn. With a duo of preserves
and a duo of wines, this is
a very festive gift choice this
Christmas.
Contents: Abbey Biscuits Handmade
Mixed Berry Biscuits 150g, Matthew
Walker Christmas Pudding 350g,
Ardens Goats Cheese & Black Pepper
Bites 100g, Barfield Bakery Mince Pies
x 4, Buchanan’s Clotted Cream Fudge
150g, Hider Salt & Black Pepper
Cashews 90g, Jimmy’s Smooth
Cranberry Popcorn 150g, Linden
Lady Handmade Chocolate Covered
Marshmallows 150g, Orchard
Preserves Christmas Chutney 200g,
Orchard Preserves.
Code: 82144
Just
£32.50
UK delivery
only
This England Gifts
CHRISTMAS CAROL
Bursting with seasonal treats such as
Christmas cake, mince pies, luxury
snacks and shortbread, this is a gift
guaranteed to raise a note, even if that’s
just a very grateful ‘thank you’ note!
Contents: Arran Fine Foods Tomato & Red
Pepper Chutney 185g, Bianca Belgian Cocoa
Dusted Truffles 150g, Grandma Wilds 4 Luxury
Mince Pies, Market Town Bakery Spiced Fruit
Slab Cake, Paterson’s Shortbread Fingers 180g,
Radfords Handmade West Country Chocolate &
Caramel Fudge 85g, Yorkshire Crisps Tomato,
Basil & Mozzarella 100g, Vino Tinto Finca Las
Rejas Spain 75cl 13% vol.
Code: 82108
VIRGINIA HAYWARD HAMPERS
Just
£76
UK delivery
only
FOR ALL HAMPERS: ORDER NOW FOR DELIVERY IN DECEMBER
PHONE: 0800 074 0188 (FREE from UK landlines) Mon-Fri 8am-6pm, Sat 9am-5pm.
Overseas: +44 1382 575052
ONLINE: www.thisengland.co.uk
THIS ENGLAND, Winter, 2017 87

This England Gifts
VIRGINIA HAYWARD HAMPERS
Just
£50
UK delivery
only
SEASON’S GREETINGS CARTON
The perfect choice for a festive collection of tasty food and snacks presented in a very
convenient and sturdy festive postal carton.
As well as delicious buttery mince pies, Matthew Walker Christmas
Pudding and a bottle of Chilean Merlot red wine, we have included
delights such as Maclean’s Sticky Toffee Luxury Biscuits and even a box
of bianca Belgian Chocolate Cocoa Dusted Truffles.
Contents: Ardens Mature Cheddar & Spring Onion Bites 100g,
Barfield Bakery Mince Pies x 4, bianca Belgian Chocolate Cocoa
Dusted Truffles 175g, Brown Bag Crisps Lightly Salted Crisps
150g, Gold Crown Top Iced Slab Cake 375g, Maclean’s Sticky
Toffee Luxury Biscuits 150g, Matthew Walker Christmas Pudding
350g, Orchard Preserves Christmas Chutney 200g, Radfords
Handmade Chocolate & Caramel Fudge 113g, Story White Grape
& Elderflower Sparkling Fruit Presse 75cl, Chilean Merlot Pais de
Poetas 75cl 12.5% vol.
Code: 82131
LOVE FROM SANTA
A lovely gift which is perfect for relatives and friends this Christmas. The
decorated hessian bag is filled with festive indulgences including Merlot,
Christmas spiced fudge, biscuits, a chocolate bauble
and more!
Contents: Abbey Biscuits Handmade Chocolate Brownies 150g,
Barfield Bakery Mince Pies x 3, Buiteman Baked With Love Gouda
& Chilli Biscuits 75g, Copperpot Christmas Spiced Butter Fudge
175g, Stas Small Milk Chocolate Bauble 75g, The Dormen Dry
Roasted Peanuts 95g, Merlot Primera Luz Chile 75cl, Jute Sack.
Code: 82118
Just
£37.50
UK delivery
only
Just
£37.50
UK delivery
only
THE SNOWDRIFT
A fun and family-friendly gift that’s presented in a miniature wooden
sleigh. With treats to satisfy even the sweetest tooth, this is a great
choice for children and adults alike.
Contents: Buttermilk Mince Pie Fudge 100g, Frank’s Luxury Chocolate
Orange & Cranberry Oaties 300g, Joe & Seph’s Mince Pie Popcorn with
Caramel, Brandy Infused Fruit & Almond 80g, Red & White Striped Large
Candy Cane 70g, Stas Small Milk Chocolate Bauble 75g, The Original Cake
Company Mini Chocolate Loaf Cake, Wooden Sleigh.
Code: 82114
FOR ALL HAMPERS: ORDER NOW FOR DELIVERY IN DECEMBER
PHONE: 0800 074 0188 (FREE from UK landlines) Mon-Fri 8am-6pm, Sat 9am-5pm.
Overseas: +44 1382 575052
ONLINE: www.thisengland.co.uk
88 THIS ENGLAND, Winter, 2017

Celebrate the scenic splendour of our green and pleasant land with
This England’s Country Calendar 2018. A selection of 15 superb
photographs takes you on a marvellous journey across the English
counties from Shropshire to Suffolk and
Northumberland to Cornwall. The wonderful
views capture the breathtaking beauty of the
English countryside amid all the seasons.
This England Gifts
Enjoy England Throughout the Year with
This England’s Country Calendar 2018
Each monthly section includes verses of poetry,
and details of important events — saints’ days,
anniversaries, bank holidays etc. There is space
beside each day for you to jot down your own
appointments.
This England’s Country Calendar 2018 is
the perfect gift to send to anyone who cherishes
England, and one that will continue to give
pleasure throughout the year.
Actual size when open: 17" x 11"
Please order early to avoid disappointment
Available only from the publishers. Not on sale in shops!
1 copy: Code: TSD18 Just £5.95 to UK overseas £7.45. US $15; Can $16; Aus $17; NZ $19.
3 copies to one address: Code: TSD83 Just £14 to UK overseas £18.50. US $37; Can $39; Aus $41; NZ $47.
6 copies to one address: Code: TSD86 Just £25 to UK overseas £36. US $72; Can $76; Aus $80; NZ $92.
10 copies to one address: Code: TSD8T Just £38 to UK overseas £52. US $103; Can $109; Aus $115; NZ $132.
POST: This England Publishing Ltd., P.O. Box 814, Haywards Heath, Sussex RH16 9LQ.
See order form on page 97
THIS ENGLAND, Winter, 2017 89

This England Gifts
This England Desk Diary 2018
The Perfect Companion!
Featuring more than 50 superb photographs representing every
English traditional county, it means that you can look forward to a
different view for every week of the year. Handsomely presented,
with a week-to-view, there’s plenty of space to fill in all those
important dates and appointments, with a colourful ribbon marker
making it ideal for the home or office.
Measuring 6 3 ⁄4" x 8 1 ⁄4" Hardback, 114 pages
1 Desk Diary: Code: DIT18
Just £10.45 to UK overseas £14.45.
US $29; Can $31; Aus $32; NZ $37.
2 Desk Diaries to one address: Code: DIT82
Just £17.50 to UK overseas £24.
US $48; Can $51; Aus $53; NZ $61.
SPECIAL OFFER
COUNTRY CALENDAR AND DESK DIARY 2018
Save
nearly
£3!
Code: TCD18
Just £13.50 to UK
overseas £17.50.
US $35;
Can $37;
Aus $39;
NZ $45.
Evergreen Pocket Diary 2018
This smart Evergreen pocket diary is perfect for
keeping up-to-date with appointments, birthdays
and holidays. With its distinctive green cover, gilt foil
lettering, and measuring 6" x 3¼", it fits neatly into a
pocket or handbag.
Contains a comprehensive diary section (two weeks to
view with Sun day start), a detailed calendar and maps
covering motorways and rail networks. A special section
compiled by the Evergreen editorial team in cludes
pages of household hints, wedding anniversaries,
mnemonics and words of wit and wisdom.
1 Evergreen Diary: Code: VPD18
Just £5.50 to UK,
overseas £7.25. US $15; Can $16; Aus $16; NZ $19.
2 Evergreen Diaries to one address: Code: VD182
Just £9 to UK,
overseas £11.75. US $24; Can $25; Aus $26; NZ $30.
3 Evergreen Diaries to one address: Code: VD183
Just £12.50 to UK,
overseas £15.50. US $31; Can $33; Aus $35; NZ $40.
POST: This England Publishing Ltd., P.O. Box 814, Haywards Heath, Sussex RH16 9LQ.
See order form on page 97
90 THIS ENGLAND, Winter, 2017

Hand-tinted Those Were The Days...Calendar 2018
This England Gifts
Pure nostalgia!
Revisit yesteryear with a wonderful selection of 14
highly evocative hand-tinted photographs capturing
the essence of England.
1 Those Were the Days Calendar:
Code: CAL18
Just £5.95 to UK,
overseas £7.45.
US $15; Can $16; Aus $17; NZ $19.
2 Those Were the Days Calendars:
Code: CL182
Just £10 to UK,
overseas £13.
US $26; Can $28; Aus $29; NZ $33.
SPECIAL OFFER
England Then and Now
THOSE WERE THE DAYS...
CALENDAR 2018 AND
THIS ENGLAND COUNTRY
CALENDAR 2018
Code: TTC18
Just £10 to UK,
overseas £13.
US $26; Can $28; Aus $29; NZ $33.
New
Format
Colin Carr Christmas Cards
We have changed the format for our
Christmas cards this year, they are a larger
size and glossy!
Size 7" x 5".
Each pack contains 12 cards (3 designs, 4 cards of each) with envelopes and comes with the simple message:
“With all good wishes for Christmas and the New Year”.
One pack: Code: MCC17
Just £10 to UK, overseas £12. US $24; Can $26; Aus $27; NZ $31.
Two packs: Code: MCC72
Just £16 to UK, overseas £21. US $42; Can $44; Aus $47; NZ $54.
This England Christmas Cards available from This England Gifts brochure and on our website: www.thisengland.co.uk.
PHONE: 0800 074 0188 (FREE from UK landlines) Mon-Fri 8am-6pm, Sat 9am-5pm.
Overseas: +44 1382 575052
ONLINE: www.thisengland.co.uk
THIS ENGLAND, Winter, 2017 91

This England Gifts
This England Gifts Bookshop
English Parish Churches
and Chapels
See the review on page 73.
(192pp, hardback)
Code: LENPC
Just £20 to UK,
overseas £24.
US $48; Can $51;
Aus $53; NZ $61.
Favourite Poems of
England
See the review on page 73.
(176pp, paperback)
Code: LPOEM
Just £9.99 to UK,
overseas £12.99.
US $26; Can $28;
Aus $29; NZ $33.
Victoria Cross Heroes of WORLD WAR ONE
Victoria Cross Heroes of World War One is the definitive illustrated history of those who were awarded
Britain’s highest military accolade for valour during the Great War. This stunning book tells the
inspiring, moving and humbling stories of all 627 Victoria Cross recipients, and is a heart-rending
tribute to the loyalty, bravery and selflessness of these British and Commonwealth heroes.
(384pp, hardback)
Code: LVICR
RRP £40, This England readers pay just £25, incl. p&p. UK ONLY
Is Anyone Watching? By Kenneth Alwyn
In this superb sequel to Baton in the Ballet, Kenneth Alwyn, relates his time as musical director of smash hit
West End musicals Half a Sixpence, Charlie Girl and Camelot before heading east to Japan with Leopold
Stokowski, then west touring America conducting the late Mantovani’s orchestra where he got into all kinds of
scrapes. The book tells many bizarre stories, all written in the author’s tongue in cheek amusing style which is
sure to entertain everyone who reads it.
(306pp, paperback)
Code: LISAW
Just £14.99 to UK, overseas £18.99. US $38; Can $40; Aus $42; NZ $49.
The Beano & Dandy Gift Book 2018
A popular collection of classic, rarely seen comic strips specially selected from our archive, with plenty of strips
featuring classic characters and of course everyone’s favourite’s Dennis the Menace and Desperate Dan.
Ideal for readers of all ages, from the young to young at heart!
(144pp, hardback)
RRP £12.99 – save £2!
Code: LBD18
Just £10.99 to UK, overseas £15.99. US $32; Can $34; Aus $36; NZ $41.
PHONE: 0800 074 0188 (FREE from UK landlines) Mon-Fri 8am-6pm, Sat 9am-5pm.
Overseas: +44 1382 575052
ONLINE: www.thisengland.co.uk
92 THIS ENGLAND, Winter, 2017

This England Gifts
GLORY OF STEAM 10-DVD Collection
Like leather on willow, the sight of majestic steam trains passing up and down the English countryside is a vision symbolic
of our country’s heritage. Observed over a 10-year period this DVD series records the majesty of live steam and allows
the viewer to relive the Glory of Steam across lovingly restored, both private railways and the national system.
The collection includes:
EAST ANGLIA LINES
GWR LINES
LMS LINES
LNER LINES
THE NORTH & EAST MIDLANDS LINES
THE SETTLE & CARLISLE LINE
THE SOUTH & WEST MIDLANDS LINES
THE SOUTH EAST
THE SOUTHERN LINES
WEST COUNTRY LINES
(Running time: 45 mins each, region code: 2.)
Code: DGL10 Just £29.99 to UK, overseas £34.99. US $70; Can $74; Aus $77; NZ $89.
SPECIAL OFFER: The Old Lady Drives to Dolgoch CD FREE
Listen to the incredible story of the Talyllyn Railway, rescued from near extinction to become the oldest
surviving operation of its type in the world. You will hear from volunteers and staff of the Talyllyn Railway
Company but it is the wonderful sounds of the locomotives in steam which makes these recordings so
important. Close your eyes and be transported back to the age of steam!
Free
THE POWELL & PRESSBURGER COLLECTION
(11-DVD Box Set)
The magnificent British film-making partnership of Michael Powell
and Emeric Pressburger often known as The Archers (name of their
production company) made a series of influential films in the 1940s
and 1950s. The box set contains eleven of the best-loved British films:
The Red Shoes
A Matter of Life and Death
Black Narcissus
I Know Where I’m Going!
Ill Met By Moonlight
The Life and Death of
Colonel Blimp
The Battle of the River Plate
A Canterbury Tale
49th Parallel
They’re a Weird Mob
The Tales of Hoffmann
(Running time: 1239 mins in total, region code 2)
Code: DARCH
Just £34.99 to UK,
overseas £40.99. US $82; Can $86; Aus $91; NZ $104.
THE COMPLETE HARRY
WORTH COLLECTION
(4-DVD set)
The Complete Harry
Worth Collection brings
you over eleven hours
of comedy gold from
the master of confusion.
Available for the very first
time on DVD, this fantastic
set includes My Name
Is Harry Worth, plus
three hilarious series of
Thirty Minutes Worth.
Join one of the most
popular comedians of his time as he reduces everyone
he comes into contact with to a state of bewilderment
and frustration with his well-meaning, bumbling
incompetence. Includes a never-before-heard 1987
audio interview with Harry Worth.
(Running time: 660 mins in total, region code 0 — all regions)
Code: DR136
Just £16.95 to UK,
overseas £19.95. US $40; Can $42; Aus $44; NZ $51.
POST: This England Publishing Ltd., P.O. Box 814, Haywards Heath, Sussex RH16 9LQ.
See order form on page 97
THIS ENGLAND, Winter, 2017 93

This England Gifts
A collection of CDs all exclusive to This England
Rhythm Pianists
Bouncy rhythm cheers up most people and here are some of the world’s fi nest
syncopated piano players to amuse you, including Fats Waller, Billy Mayerl,
Charlie Kunz, Rawicz and Landauer, Russ Conway, George Gershwin,
Scott Joplin, Jelly Roll Morton and many more.
Tracks include: Love Me or Leave Me; Makin’ Whoopee; The Entertainer;
Ain’t Misbehavin’; Marigold; Barrelhouse; We’re in the Money; Hometown;
Tiptoe Through the Tulips; Jingle Jangle Jingle; Blue Moon; Get Happy; With
a Song in My Heart; You Made Me Love You; Twelfth Street Rag; Cross Hands
Boogie, etc.
Code: C169
Come Dancing
Many future married couples met
on the dance floor and here are
27 different foot tappers to remind
you of the past, when a visit to the
local palais or village hall was the
highlight of the week. Everything
from a 17th-century minuet,
through several Latin American
dances to 20th-century rock & roll
are included, calling at various hop, skip and jump stations in
between. What was your favourite?
Code: C159
Code: C130
David Hughes
Both a popular and classical
tenor, he was known as “Mr. Heart
Throb” but his glittering career
was cut dreadfully short by a heart
attack, after standing in at the
last minute for a performance of
Madame Butterfl y at the London
Coliseum. Happily, his recorded
legacy lives on.
Thanks for the Memory
Hollywood has produced many
famous singers down the years
and here are 28 of their best
songs. Among the performers are
Bob Hope, Bing Crosby, Louis
Armstrong, Judy Garland,
Marilyn Monroe, Fred Astaire,
Gene Kelly, Marlene Dietrich,
Frank Sinatra, Danny Kaye,
Betty Hutton and many more. You can’t beat ‘em so why
not join ‘em?
Code: C164
Country Gardens
We all like a nice garden and
green fi ngers have provided the
inspiration for many composers
down the years. These 24
superb tracks include mention of
Narcissus, Marigold, Hollyhock,
Daisies, Bluebells, Roses, Amaryllis,
Lavender and Apple Blossom, not
to mention birds, trees and insects.
A delightfully rural selection of music.
Code: C150
Just £9.95 each to UK,
overseas £12. US $24; Can $26; Aus $27; NZ $31.
POST: This England Publishing Ltd., P.O. Box 814, Haywards Heath, Sussex RH16 9LQ.
See order form on page 97
94 THIS ENGLAND, Winter, 2017

This England Gifts
THE TRUE, HISTORIC COUNTIES OF
GREAT BRITAIN AND NORTHERN IRELAND
This map is the only one in existence showing the counties
in a modern, large scale format. It shows real historic (not
administrative) counties that remain the same today as they
have been for hundreds of years.
This unique map, printed on satin paper, comes either as a
plain or laminated wall map or a traditional folded map that
you can take anywhere.
• Size 46" x 32"
• Scale 1" to 13½ miles
• Principal cities and towns
• Historic county towns
• Motorways and principal
road network
• Fascinating “About this
map” account included
Folded map:
Code: MFMAP
Just £14.95 to UK,
overseas £19.95.
US $40; Can $42;
Aus $44; NZ $51.
Plain wall map:
Code: MWMAP
Just £21.95 to UK,
overseas £29.95.
US $60; Can $63;
Aus $66; NZ $76.
Laminated wall map:
Code: MLMAP
Just £39.95 to UK,
overseas £51.95.
US $103; Can $109;
Aus $115; NZ $132.
The Real County of Yorkshire Map
Yorkshire, our largest county, with its three historic
Ridings, is the same today as it has been for over a
thousand years. The boundaries of no fewer than 35
councils governing those who live in Yorkshire bear
no relation to the real county. This map, the fi rst in the
‘Real County’ series, sets the record straight.
• Size approx. 33" x 23"
• Accurate boundaries of the real county of Yorkshire
• Yorkshire’s three Ridings clearly marked
• Historic boundary of the city of York
• Current local government boundaries
• Principal cities, towns and villages
• National parks, principal rivers and peaks
• Heritage railways
• Key tourist attractions
Also included is a fascinating, detailed ‘About this map’
account.
Yorkshire folded map: Code: MFYOR
Just £12.95 to UK, overseas £18.95. US $38; Can $40; Aus $42; NZ $48.
Yorkshire plain wall map: Code: MWYOR
Just £16.95 to UK, overseas £23.95. US $48; Can $51; Aus $53; NZ $61.
Yorkshire laminated wall map: Code: MLYOR
Just £29.95 to UK, overseas £37.95. US $76; Can $80; Aus $84; NZ $97.
PHONE: 0800 074 0188 (FREE from UK landlines) Mon-Fri 8am-6pm, Sat 9am-5pm.
Overseas: +44 1382 575052
ONLINE: www.thisengland.co.uk
THIS ENGLAND, Winter, 2017 95

This England Gifts
IMPERIAL WAR MUSEUM CONSTRUCTION SETS
This new collection has been inspired by five of IWM’s most iconic objects, with the sets
featuring Second World War Navy ship HMS Belfast, the Lancaster Bomber, Sherman Tank,
Willys MB Jeep and the Hawker Hurricane.
Lancaster Bomber
Construction Set
386 pieces
Code: FX023
Hawker Hurricane
Construction Set
285 pieces
Code: FX022
Just
£27.50
each
UK delivery
only
Each package features
archival images of the
vehicles and informative
descriptions.
Size approx. 10" x 11" when complete.
HMS Belfast Construction Set
514 pieces
Code: FX026
Each box contains
step-by-step instructions and necessary
tools to build the model vehicle.
Sherman Tank Construction Set
287 pieces, size: 24.5 x 28 x 4cm
when complete.
Code: FX024
Willys MB Jeep Construction Set
377 pieces, size: 24.5 x 28 x 4cm
when complete
Code: FX025
PHONE: 0800 074 0188 (FREE from UK landlines) Mon-Fri 8am-6pm, Sat 9am-5pm.
Overseas: +44 1382 575052
ONLINE: www.thisengland.co.uk
96 THIS ENGLAND, Winter, 2017

St. George For England Gifts
Gentleman’s Silk Tie
Made in Lancashire,
this handsome 100%
silk woven tie is a
must for any English
gentleman wherever
he lives in the
world!
Code: PGTS
Order This form England for Gifts Gifts
How to order:
Phone: 0800 074 0188 (FREE from UK landlines)
Mon-Fri 8am-6pm, Sat 9am-5pm
Overseas: +44 1382 575052
Post: Complete the order form below and post
with payment to:
This England Publishing Ltd.,
P.O. Box 814, Haywards Heath,
Sussex RH16 9LQ.
Online: www.thisengland.co.uk
Just £22.95 to UK,
overseas £24.95.
US $50; Can $53; Aus $55; NZ $64.
Lady’s Silk Scarf
Made in Lancashire of 100%
printed silk twill, this luxuriously soft
scarf with a stylish St. George
and shield pattern will
complement a lady’s
outfi t on any
smart occasion.
PLEASE USE BLOCK CAPITALS
Please enter your name and address even if ordering for friends
Your Title:
Your Last name:
Your Address:
First name:
Postcode:
Telephone:
E-mail address:
ITEM CODE ITEM DESCRIPTION QTY £/$
St. George Accessories
Proud Englishmen and women all around the world are wearing
these exquisitely crafted nickel-plated accessories, each with the
enamel shield of the Cross of St. George.
Presented in smart black leatherette boxes.
Made in
Warwickshire.
LAPEL PIN with long pin & protector Code: PSG04
Just £11.95 to UK, overseas £13.95.
US $28; Can $30; Aus $31; NZ $36.
PENDANTS or CHARMS Code: PSG06
WAS £12.95 —
NOW just £8.95 to UK,
overseas £10.95.
US $22; Can $23; Aus $25; NZ $28.
Code: PGLS
Just £19.95 to UK,
overseas £21.95. US $44;
Can $46; Aus $49; NZ $56.
Continue on plain paper if necessary
P&P Included
Total
GIFT FORM 1 Title:
First name:
Last name:
Address:
Postcode:
ITEM CODE ITEM DESCRIPTION QTY £/$
Continue on plain paper if necessary
P&P Included
Total
GIFT FORM 2 Title:
Last name:
Address:
First name:
Postcode:
ITEM CODE ITEM DESCRIPTION QTY £/$
POST: This England Publishing Ltd., P.O. Box 814,
Haywards Heath, Sussex RH16 9LQ.
Dollar prices are subject to exchange rate variation if
payment is made by debit/credit card. A transaction
fee may apply.
P&P
Total
Included
PLEASE FILL IN PAYMENT FORM OVERLEAF
THIS ENGLAND, Winter, 2017 97

This England Gifts
Order form for subscriptions
YES, I would like to subscribe to THIS ENGLAND for: (tick relevant box)
Only £17 by Direct Debit (UK) + FREE gift + FREE This England
calendar
1 year for £21 (UK) or £29 (Overseas) + FREE gift
2 years for £39.90 (UK) or £51.10 (Overseas) + FREE gift + FREE
This England calendar
Choose your Queen Elizabeth II book (CROWN)
FREE gift: Tea caddy and mug set (TEAMG) FREE GREETINGS CARD
Please complete the coupon and send it to: This England,
P.O. Box 814, Haywards Heath, Sussex RH16 9LQ.
PLEASE USE BLOCK CAPITALS
Please enter your name and address even if ordering for friends
1 DIRECT DEBIT PAYMENT:
INSTRUCTIONS TO YOUR
BANK/BUILDING SOCIETY
TO PAY BY DIRECT DEBIT
Name and full postal address of your Bank or Building Society
To the Manager
Address
Postcode
Instruction to your Bank/Building Society
Please pay This England Publishing Ltd Direct Debits from the account detailed in this instruction subject to the
safeguards assured by the Direct Debit Guarantee. I understand that this instruction may remain with This England
Publishing Ltd and if so, details will be passed electronically to my Bank/Building Society.
Signature(s)
Please Enter Your Subscription Reference Number
Date
Your Title:
Your Last name:
Your Address:
FOR THIS ENGLAND PUBLISHING LTD. OFFICIAL USE ONLY
This is not part of the instruction to your bank or building society
First name:
Postcode:
Telephone:
E-mail address:
Is this subscription for yourself Is this a renewal?
Or a new subscription? starting with the:........................ edition
GIFT FORM Title:
Last name:
Address:
First name:
Postcode:
Please post for 1 year or 2 years to the above Is this a renewal?
Or a new subscription? starting with the:........................ edition
Continue on plain paper if necessary
Payment method
2 CREDIT CARD PAYMENT:
I authorise This England Publishing Ltd
to charge to my Mastercard/Visa: £
Card No:
Bank/Building Society
Name(s) of Account Holder(s)
Bank/Building Society Account Number
Branch Sort Code
Originator’s Identification Number
5 0 3 2 1 2
Bank and Building Societies may not accept
Direct Debits for some types of account
Subscribe to
This England gift subscriptions are the perfect way to say “Merry
Christmas” to a friend or relative. As each edition arrives seasonally
throughout the year, they will be reminded of your kind thought.
Each gift subscription includes a delightful
FREE greetings card, on request, for you
to sign and send on to your friends. At the
same time, why not take out a subscription
for yourself? You will receive the magazine
FREE
earlier than available in the shops — and
there’s no risk of missing an issue.
Subscribe today with this great-value, easy-to-buy subscription
offer from only £17 and get your choice of free gift, a
Queen Elizabeth II book or a tea caddy and mug set.
When you take out a direct debit or 2 year pre-paid subscription
you will also receive a FREE 2018
This England Country Calendar,
worth £5.95.
With kind regards,
Stephen Garnett (Editor)
DIRECT DEBIT
*Only £17 for one year.
(UK bank accounts only.
1 year fixed term) Place your
order by FREEPHONE or
ONLINE.
PLUS
Worth
£5.95
CREDIT CARD OR CHEQUE
Term UK Overseas
1 year £21.00 £29.00
2 years £39.90 £51.10
GREAT REASONS TO SUBSCRIBE:
SAVE on the annual shop price with Direct Debit
FREE UK delivery direct to your door
FREE welcome gift for every new subscriber
FREE This England calendar when you subscribe
via Direct Debit or for more than one year
FREE gift card, on request, with each gift
subscription
NEVER miss an issue of your favourite magazine
Signature(s)
Expiry date:
Dollar prices are subject to exchange rate variation if payment is made by debit/credit
card. A transaction fee may apply.
3 CHEQUE PAYMENT:
I enclose my cheque (no cash please) for:
made payable to This England Publishing Ltd
£
98 THIS ENGLAND, Winter, 2017
This England Publishing Ltd, part of DC Thomson and Co. Ltd., would like to contact you
from time to time about new products, services and offers we think may be of interest to
you. If you’d like to hear from us by post, please tick here telephone, please tick here
or email, please tick here .
Photograph: JIM HELLIER
ALSO AVAILABLE AS A DIGITAL SUBSCRIPTION
Why not try This England as a digital
subscription and read your issues on
the go?
Available to buy on the App Store and
Google Play.

This England Gifts
This England for only £17
receive your choice of free gift*
SAVE
19%
on the
shop price
Queen Elizabeth II book (CROWN)
Your
choice of
FREE
welcome
gift
Tea caddy and mug set (TEAMG)
It’s easy to subscribe...
Online: www.thisengland.co.uk
Phone: 0800 074 0188 (FREE from UK landlines)
Mon-Fri 8am-6pm, Sat 9am-5pm Overseas: +44 1382 575052
Post: Complete the order form opposite and post to:
This England Publishing Ltd., P.O. Box 814, Haywards Heath,
Sussex RH16 9LQ.
Terms and Conditions: *One year for £17 subscription offer is available for delivery within the UK by Direct Debit only. Overseas Direct Debit rate at £25 and is available for UK Bank
Accounts only. One year minimum term applies. Prepaid rates available by cheque and credit card. One year pre-paid UK rate £21 or £29 Overseas. THIS Overseas ENGLAND, prices in Winter, other currencies 2017 99
are available on application, please dial +44 1382 575052. FREE gifts are available to all new subscribers. Queen Elizabeth II book limited to first 560 orders. Please allow up to
28-days for delivery from receipt of payment. Should the gift pictured be unavailable, a replacement gift will be sent. Offer ends 28th February 2018.

Home Again
I must come back to England,
Because my heart is there,
To leave behind the desert sands
And breathe the cool sweet air.
I want to see the fields again,
And hear a robin sing,
To wander in the gentle rain
And hear the church bells ring.
Recalling lovely summers past,
And winter’s gentle snow,
I want to find that magic path
Where all our memories go.
DAVID WEBB
A view from Titterstone Clee, bathed in winter sunlight, looking across the fields
at Bitterley in Shropshire. MIKE HAYWARD