Cornucopia
The Gunpowder Plotters’ Last Stand
The last desperate stand of the Gunpowder Plotters, after a chase from London, took place in the village of Wall Heath in Staffordshire.
It was to Holbeche House that a group of exhausted men fled on 7th November 1605. They were led by Robert Catesby of Warwickshire and in their number was Stephen Lyttleton, whose family lived at Hagley Hall some miles away.
Their plot was to restore a Catholic government by blowing up King James I and his ministers, but their plans had been discovered and Guy Fawkes arrested.
Catesby and his men fled to Holbeche, but while at the house some gunpowder was left to dry by an open fire and it exploded blowing out a wall and causing some injuries.
After a short time Sheriff Richard Walsh of Worcestershire and his posse closed in and, following a fierce skirmish, Holbeche House and the plotters were taken.
But the story is not forgotten by local people and they still talk of the event and a ghostly tale. An apparition of a horseman has been spotted galloping along the Bridgnorth Road at Wombourne Cross near the house and hovering above the ground.
The story goes that the ghostly rider seen is that of Gideon Grove. Grove was a young groom who had fled Holbeche House during the fight.
The wretched rider was chased by the sheriff’s men who shot him while he floundered in a bog at Smestow near Wombourne village.
The house is now a private nursing home and has seen many changes over the intervening years, but it still stands as a monument to a group of brave men who died for a cause and a faith they believed in.
Wartime Courage Recalled in Suffolk
An interesting plaque in the pedestrian precinct of the Suffolk market town of Halesworth tells a dramatic story of wartime courage.
One enters the pedestrian area of this ancient town by crossing the bridge over the River Blyth, with its hopeful ducks on the bank below. As one approaches the centre of town a plaque can be seen planted in a raised brick, flower bed. The wording on the memorial reads:
This stone has been erected by the people of Halesworth in gratitude for the bravery of Flying Officer D. W. Field and his crew of Avro Lancaster
On the night of 20th December 1943 Flying Officer Field and his crew came under heavy attack on a night raid to Frankfurt forcing them to return with a full bomb load that they were unable to jettison owing to damage to the hydraulic system. The pilot struggled for over two hours with the stricken aircraft before ordering his crew to bale out resulting in the death of Warrant Officer Richard Bradley Smith DFC whose parachute failed to open.
Flying Officer Field battled to keep height and valiantly steered his aircraft away from the populated area of Halesworth. He baled out at a height of only 800 feet just before the aircraft crashed into countryside between Wissett and Chediston. His courage and tenacity saved Halesworth from severe damage and large loss of life by the huge bomb load that the aircraft was carrying.
The names of the crew are detailed on the memorial. ROGER LEY
Rescue Funding for English Churches
Twenty- nine churches and chapels across the British Isles are set to benefit from rescue funding of £391,000 from the National Churches Trust.
The funding from the charity supporting church buildings of all Christian denominations across the UK, will help pay for urgent roof and other structural repairs. It will also help fund improved access and the installation of kitchens and toilets to safeguard the future of churches by allowing them to be used more widely by local people for community activities. Many of the churches and chapels receiving funding are Grade-i or Grade-ii* listed and 14 are are on Historic England’s Heritage At Risk Register.
Among those churches receiving funding are: Saltaire
Remember, remember the fifth of November, gunpowder, treason and plot.
United Reform Church, in Yorkshire, which is Grade-i listed and a breathtaking example of Italianate religious architecture at the heart of the UNESCO World Heritage Site model village of Saltaire.
Another is St. Margaret of Antioch, a church which has stood largely unchanged in the Oxfordshire village of Hinton Waldrist, which was brought to public attention by Queen guitarist Brian May in his research into the stereoscopic imagery of the Victorian photographer T.R. Williams.
Other churches include: St. Alban’s, Offerton, Cheshire; St. Mawgan-inMeneage, Churchtown, Mawgan, Cornwall; St. Mary’s, Kemp Town, Sussex; St. Christopher’s, Willingale, Essex; Newport Minster, Isle of Wight; St. Mary the Virgin, Sutton Valence, Kent; St. Bartholomew’s, Ingoldsby, Lincolnshire; Holy Trinity, Southport; St. Mary and Holy Trinity, Bow, London; St. Mary the Virgin, Barningham Winter, Norfolk; St. John the Baptist, Kenley, Shropshire; St. Michael the Archangel’s, Dundry, Somerset; St. Thomas and St. Luke, Dudley; St. Bartholomew’s, Bayton, Worcestershire; St. Leonard’s Cotheridge, Warwickshire.
Huw Edwards, Vice President of the National Churches Trust said: “At the heart of the nation’s history, churches and chapels are some of the UK’S best-loved local buildings. But their future is not guaranteed.
“The latest funding from the National Churches Trust will help 29 UK churches and chapels continue to flourish at the heart of their communities by safeguarding their architecture and making sure their facilities are up-to-date.
“Everyone can make a contribution to the future of the UK’S churches and chapels by volunteering to help look after these precious buildings. If you’ve got practical skills you could help clear drains and gutters, if you are a good communicator you could help show people the history and architecture of a local church or you could simply be a good neighbour and keep an eye out for vandals or thieves.
“Churches and chapels may be historic buildings, but they can be part of our future, too.”
For more information visit: www.nationalchurchestrust.org
Harbour Masters and Quiz Questions
It is the sort of question which might crop up in a pub quiz in a round entitled “Firsts” and could well prove to be a decider. “Who was the first female harbour master in the United Kingdom?”
The answer takes us to the Devon town of Paignton and Stella Gale, born in 1908, the daughter of a local boat builder.
In 1929 she had the distinction of being appointed the first female harbour master in the British Isles. She was then only 21 years old. Interestingly it was just the year before that the cry “Votes for women” had been fully answered as women’s voting rights had achieved parity with men with the qualifying age reduced from 30 to 21. It was also in 1929 that the first woman had been appointed to the cabinet, Margaret Bondfield.
Stella Gale held her post for 12 years, including the dark days when Britain was under threat of invasion as war enveloped Europe. She retired in 1941 and died in 1986 aged 78. DAVID HUNTER
Ernest Wilson — From The Cotswolds to China
Tourists in the lovely Cotswold town of Chipping Campden will walk along the mile-long High Street which, many years ago, was described by the celebrated historian, G.M. Trevelyan, as “the most beautiful village street in England”. But they will perhaps miss the garden hiding demurely behind a stone wall. The public garden was planned by Cotswold Wardens in 1984 as a memorial to Ernest Wilson who was born in Chipping Campden in 1876.
Gardeners have a lot to be grateful to Wilson for, as have lovers of the kiwi fruit! Wilson, who was ambitious from an early age, was to spend four years at the Birmingham Botanical Gardens. He went on to the Royal Botanic Gardens at Kew studying Chinese plants and flowers and their use in medicines.
In 1899 Wilson was approached by James Veitch and Sons, a noted plant firm, to go to China (where the Boxer Rebellion was raging) to search for the Davidia Ivolucreta — the handkerchief tree which had been found originally by an explorer in 1869.
Wilson wrote: “China is now waking up and fraught with colossal possibilities. China needs railways, roads, rolling stock and machinery.” AntiWestern sentiments could have been a problem especially as Wilson refused to wear Chinese dress!
Wilson was to make four visits to China between 1899 and 1911. Continually looking for that elusive tree, Wilson (given the name “China Wilson”), only had the barest details of its whereabouts. After a difficult exploration up the Yangtze river he arrived to find the tree had been felled. Showing true English grit, he found another before returning home.
Later, leaving his new bride behind, he went off again to the Far East. He was asked by Veitch to find a rare yellow poppy (the Meconopsis Integrifolia): he located it at a height of 10,000 feet — a glorious mass of huge blooms but he also brought home seeds from 500 undiscovered species including the Lilium Regale.
Expedition number three was on behalf of the American Arnold Arboretum, but Wilson was not enthusiastic as Nellie, his wife, was expecting their first child.
Expedition number four, in 1910, was a disaster. He was struck by a rock, but survived to make two final expeditions to Australia and Japan. On Mount Kirshima he found many wonderful azaleas which became known as Wilson’s Fifty.
His later years were spent in America, but it is ironic that, having survived many dangers, he and Nellie should die in a car accident in 1932.
In buying delicious kiwi fruit remember that Ernest Wilson introduced the Actinia Delliciosa — the Chinese gooseberry — which was developed in New Zealand into kiwi fruit. Also, in garden centres look out for plants and trees with name tags that end in Wilsonni. Better still, visit that garden in Chipping Campden and give thanks to the man whose voyages give us so many horticultural pleasures. RICHARD SHUREY
Quick Exit from Press Gang Cottage!
The photograph (below left) shows Press Gang Cottage, Lymington, Hampshire, where members of the local press gang used to meet to plan their exploits.
Press gangs had existed since at least the 17th century to meet the needs of the Royal Navy. Because pay and conditions were harder than in the merchant navy, there were never enough volunteers. Magistrates tried to compensate for this by offering some prisoners the chance to “volunteer” and so escape prison or the gallows, but there was still a shortfall, so impressment became commonplace.
The press gangs, composed of sailors and hired landsmen, usually led by an officer, roamed the streets of coastal towns. They preferred men with seafaring experience, or those who had worked on riverboats, but would seize any strong landsman as well, especially in time of war. Men were often snatched in the street, or in the pubs where merchant seamen gathered. One such pub, the Dooley Inn, in Lower Walton, Suffolk, installed two doors in every room so that customers had a chance to escape if a gang arrived.
Another favourite place to pounce was the fairground — where young men with money in their pockets would be enjoying themselves and therefore off-guard. Men unlucky enough to be caught were then given the option to “volunteer” — those who did so receiving better treatment and higher pay than those who refused.
After the end of the Napoleonic Wars in 1815, impressment disappeared, although it still remained legal throughout the 19th century. DEREK BENNETT
Historic Moon-rockets Ride Goes into Orbit
Afundraising campaign has saved a historic fairground attraction regarded as the forerunner of today’s “white-knuckle rides”. Shaw’s Moon-rockets was built in the late 1930s and is the only ride of its kind still intact.
Consisting of colourful rocketshaped cars on a sloped, revolving base it reaches speeds of up to 30 miles an hour, which although sedate by today’s standards was groundbreaking to a generation used to merry-go-rounds and galloping horses.
It was still in use up to the early 1980s, but as fairgoers expected more thrills, speed and adventure the ride was retired and bought by an enthusiast, the late Howard Maden, who restored it to its 1960s glory.
When it was put up for sale the Fairground Heritage Trust, based at Dingles Fairground Heritage Centre in Milford, Devon, was keen to secure it for the enjoyment of future generations.
The National Heritage Memorial Fund awarded the Trust £90,000 and a further £17,000 was raised from public donations to secure its purchase.
The ride will be delivered to the Fairground Heritage Centre in January and subsequently go on display.
Dingles Fairground Heritage Centre is open from February to October. For details go to: fairground-heritage.org.uk
Exhibition of Historic Photographer’s Work
An exhibition at Norwich Castle Museum and Art Gallery is featuring the work of one of Britain’s most important photographers of the first half of the 20th century. In her 50-year career, Olive Edis (1876-1955) became the firstever accredited female war photographer.
Fishermen and Kings: The Photography of Olive Edis is the first comprehensive exhibition dedicated to her work.
Featuring more than 190 rare photographs, it showcases Edis’ wide-ranging portraiture from British royalty to simple Norfolk fishermen, together with her important work as an official war photographer. Edis was only the fifth official British photographer to visit Europe to cover the First World War and her atmospheric photographs capture the devastation that followed the conflict.
Apart from portraits of royalty, Edis photographed four British Prime Ministers, as well as many important and influential people of the time, from the Suffragette movement through to literary greats such as Thomas Hardy, George Bernard Shaw and John Galsworthy.
Edis has left us with the most extraordinary legacy — a snapshot of a cross-section of society in Britain in the first few decades of the 20th century. Her work is now being rediscovered and appreciated once again and this unique exhibition should help put her firmly back in focus.
Celebrating Cornwall’s Mining History
In July 2006, Cornwall and West Devon’s rich mining heritage was recognised when the region was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site, placing the county’s ruined engine houses on an equal footing with The Pyramids and the Taj Mahal. To celebrate the 10th anniversary of this recognition, a series of events took place during July and August 2016 featuring the largest mechanical puppet ever built — the “Man Engine”.
This mechanical monster made his way across the mining heritage sites — starting at Tavistock and finishing a week later amid the iconic ruined mine chimneys which dot the landscape in the area around Geevor Tin Mine on the far west coast of Cornwall.
The Man Engine is a giant mechanical representation of a tin miner, animated by a crew of puppeteers dressed as miners and “bal-maidens”, women who worked above ground sorting the ore. It is the creation of puppet master Hal Sylvester, along with Will Coleman, who narrates the show. During the hour-long ceremony, the Man Engine was raised up to a height of almost 40 feet, amid a whirring of wheels and spouting steam. Throughout the show, local musicians perform specially written songs reflecting Cornish mining culture.
The term “Man Engine” originally referred to the steampowered winding mechanism used to lower and raise the miners in their journey to and from the tunnels deep underground. At Wheal Owles mine near Levant in 1919, a tragedy occurred when a failure of the mechanism led to the death of 31 miners who were just approaching the surface. JOHN HUSBAND
Festive Events at Historic Places
The National Trust has many seasonal events planned at its properties across the country to get you in the festive spirit.
There’s the chance to do your Christmas shopping at markets and fairs selling handmade crafts, delicious local food and extra-special gifts. You can also enjoy mulled wine and mince pies and stroll through frosty winter gardens.
If you’re looking to discover seasonal magic there’s a 100foot flower garland at Cotehele in Cornwall on show (12th November - 31st December — excluding Christmas Day and Boxing Day), or the twilight display at Wallington in Northumberland (2nd, 9th and 16th December).
Those who love fairy tales should head to Killerton in Devon to walk the Grimm Christmas trail, inspired by the Brothers Grimm tales (19th - 30th November, 1st - 24th, 27th - 31st December).
Other highlights include: Dudmaston Estate, Shropshire, Christmas Craft Fair, 19th - 20th November; Lydford Gorge, Devon, Winter Fayre, 4th December; Stourhead, Wiltshire, Christmas Craft Fair, 3rd - 4th December; Tattershall Castle, Lincolnshire, Christmas Market, 19th - 20th November; Trelissick, Cornwall, Craft Fair, 27th November; Tyntesfield, North Somerset, Festive Food and Craft Market, 6th November, 3rd - 4th December; Upton House and Gardens, Warwickshire, Wartime Christmas Fayre, 3rd - 4th December; Wimpole Estate, Cambridgeshire, Christmas Craft Fair, 12th - 13th November
For details of times, admission and other National Trust events taking place, check the website www.nationaltrust.org.uk