Sutton Hoo – Myth, Legend and History

 

A visit to Sutton Hoo, on the banks of the River Deben, has been on my wish list for a long time.

After the Roman Emperor withdrew his troops from Britannia in 410 AD, the power vacuum was quickly filled by tribes from the continent – the Anglo-Saxons I wrote about here.  Within a century, Norfolk and Suffolk had become the Kingdom of The East Angles and ‘England’ was becoming a reality.  Kingdoms, of course, need Kings and this is where the lines between myth, legend and history start to blur.

What we do know is that beneath the 20 or so mounds at Sutton Hoo, important people were laid to rest.  When excavations started in the late 1930s, the outline of a ship was revealed and in it were precious items like the helmet above.

Scholars are mostly in agreement that the burial is that of Rædwald, the first king of whom more is known than his name.

Most of what we know comes from “Ecclesiastical History of the English People” , completed by Bede in 731 AD.  I wonder what he would have thought of being able to buy a copy via the internet?  Or of reading it on line?

The site is in the care of The National Trust, working with the British Museum and a great place to wander round with excellent displays in the museum and very friendly staff.  I’ll just whet your appetite with a few more pictures.

Shropshire round up

We packed quite a lot into the 10 days we were in Shropshire and are hoping to return to visit all the places we didn’t see.

One day we drove up Long Mynd. I took no photos on the way up as it was not possible to stop. We drove up a narrow lane which is not maintained in winter. First gear all the way up, a terrifying drop inches from my window, hoping we would not meet anyone coming down!  The views from the top were glorious. We drove down the less steep road to Church Stretton.  More views on Picasa.

Last summer, Tara sent me a small glass with ‘Pray for me, my husband collects trains’ on the side. I’m not sure if I should fill it with whisky or put a votive candle in it.  Either way, it made me laugh and I know she understands – like father, like son!

Alan visited Bridgenorth to see the station on the Severn Valley Railway and I stayed at the caravan with Mac.  A few of his 142 pictures are on Picasa.  They weren’t all of the railway!

We visited Sunnycroft, a small National Trust property with David and Shirley.  We were there to see some of the Leek Embroidery – not embroidery with leeks as one friend willfully misunderstood it – but embroidery by the Ladies of the Leek Embroidery Society. There wasn’t as much of it on display as we hoped but the house was interesting. I’m afraid they didn’t allow photos in the house although we had understood that all National Trust properties do now.

Shirley’s great grandmother was a member of the Leek Embroidery Society so there was a family interest in the visit. Sunnycroft’s last owner, Joan Lander, worked on the embroidery of the Queen’s Purple Robe of Velvet at the 1953 coronation. She also ran a business from the house, selling embroidery kits and, by another of those strange coincidences, I remember seeing them in Libertys and Selfridges in London and being a bit snooty about the idea of using a kit! 

‘Britain’s Bayeux Tapestry’ was worked by the ladies of the Leek Embroidery Society. It is an accurate copy, except for the fact that all male genitals are missing – even those of the stallions!  It is on display in Reading Museum and is on our list of ‘must visit’ places. The best site I have found with an account of the work is here.  Illustrations of the Tapestry can be seen at the Reading Museum site.

Acton Scott Farm Museum

The Farmyard at Acton Scott Home Farm

We visited Acton Scott Farm Museum for the first time in over 20 years while we were in Shropshire.  Alan has covered a lot of the story in ‘A Richer Earth’ so I will try not to duplicate.

In addition to the farm and the glorious countryside (we were lucky with the weather), a lot of trouble has been taken to show a glimpse of the life of country people in Victorian times.  The attention to detail is superb.

The kitchen at Home Farm

Yes, the man sitting on the left really is drinking a cup of tea and chatting during a break from his job as a guide and farm worker. The three people in the picture were totally relaxed in their costumes and chatted comfortably with visitors, answering questions and providing information in a friendly way.

Visitors to our house will recognise the airer over the fireplace as identical with one we still use.

The zinc bath, hanging on the wall outside the kitchen is very familiar to me. I was brought up in a small house without a bathroom and we had one which was brought in every Friday night. The water was heated in a large brick built ‘copper’ with a coal fire underneath and transferred by a bucket to the bath.

Such changes in my lifetime. Today we even have a shower and hot water on tap in our caravan.

The estate was the centre of the community. The building above was the school. Built in 1866, the school was in the left of the building and the Schoolmaster lived on the right. Up to 60 children came to this school, some walking 4 miles each way.  The school closed in 1951 and now it is a cafe. A large party of schoolchildren laughing and joking outside. The looked clean, healthy and happy. I’ll bet none of them walked 4 miles to school.

There are more pictures on Picasa, including the requisite baby animals for you to ‘ooh’ and ‘aah’ over.

Wroxeter Roman City (Viroconium)

It is difficult to believe that this lovely pastoral scene is typical of an area that was fought over for centuries and, as with Northumbria, the Romans set garrisons here.

Viroconium began as a Legionary fortress – in this area, the borders of Wales were very fluid – and grew into the fourth largest city in Roman Britain. covering 200 acres and having 2 miles of walls. What we can see today is enclosed in the circle highlighted in the plan above.  The rest is below ground and new excavations continue.

The area open to the public was the centre of the city with the baths, forum and market.  Baths, to Romans, didn’t mean a private room. These were at the centre of public life and very sophisticated.  A visitor could use a cold bath (the frigidarium), a warm bath (the tepidarium) and a hot bath (the caldarium). Not until the 20th century did bathing again become a commonplace and enjoyable activity.

The basilica, illustrated above was an exercise hall and meeting place.  245 feet long and 66 feet wide, it had marble columns supporting the roof.

Today, all that remains above ground is an area of white gravel to show the boundaries and darker circles where the marble columns stood - and one imposing stretch of wall.

Leading to the baths, this wall is one of the largest remaining free-standing structures from Roman Britain. It is difficult to get a sense of scale and, as usual, we were looking for the mood of the place and nearly missed the opportunity to add human figures to give a sense of scale.

 
The above picture shows the entrance to the baths themselves.

 

The piles of tiles shown above were under the floor of the hot and cold rooms and a floor would have brought them up to the level of the entrance.

Our hats are taken off to English Heritage who have given us a glimpse into the centre of Viroconium while excavating and preserving the remains of much more.

There are more photos on Picasa.

Coalbrookdale – Coalport China Museum

Taking photos of exhibits behind glass is not easy but a post about Coalport China has to include at least one to give at least a glimpse of why Coalport was so successful.
When a Canal was dug to connect the mines and ironworks of Blists Hill with the River Severn in the late 18th century, a new settlement grew up on the banks and was named after the coal which was the main cargo carried on the canal.
Among the varied industries which grew at the site was china production and the museum is in the remains of the old works. Coalport china is famed for vivid colours and intricate painting.
The intricate shapes were formed by ‘slip-casting’. The ‘slip’ – a liquid mix of china – was poured into plaster of paris mould which absorbed water from the clay. The clay form came away from the mould as it dried and shrank.
For complex shapes, separate pieces are cast and joined with slip afterwards.
Firing took place in several stages in the distinctive bottle ovens, protected from the soot and flames by fire-clay boxes called Saggars, placed in the kiln at the centre.
  
China production moved to Stoke, Staffordshire in the 1920s and Coalport china is still produced as part of the Waterford-Wedgewood group of companies.
Today, Coalport is a sleepy village again – apart from the visitors to the museum and people staying at the Youth Hostel which now occupies part of the old works.
More pictures on Picasa.

Coalbrookdale – Blists Hill Victorian Town

Coalbrookdale is in a narrow gorge, formed when the River Severn changed course after the last ice age.

With clay, iron, coal, and limestone easily accessible, it was the site chosen by Abraham Darby to experiment with smelting iron using coke instead of charcoal.  This enabled greater quantities of iron to be produced, sparking new developments and the first iron bridge was constructed by the third Abraham Darby in 1779.

 Coalbrookdale by Night, 1801 (Public Domain)

Now it is a World Heritage Site and has 10 museums in an area of around 6 square miles.

We visited two of them – Blist’s Hill and the Coalport pottery museum. It was a long day!  Blist’s Hill has grown since our last visit and is worth a full day in its own right. The admission price covers all the museums for as many visits as you like for a whole year (like Bletchley Park) and we will return later in the year to see more.

  A street scene

Pouring pig iron

The Doctor’s surgery

Since we took 189 usable photos between us, a further selection is on Picasa.

The National Railway Museum

We visited the National Railway Museum in York.  I haven't been there since they had a big expansion some years ago and was most impressed
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The engine above is The Duchess of Hamilton, built in the '30s and very fine.

The biggest disappointment was that the Flying Scotsman is still in small pieces waiting for the rest of the money to be raised for its restoration. In this economic climate, who knows when it will get done.

Possibly the most interesting section was the Warehouse.  All museums have stores of items they don't have room to display and this is no exception so they have opened up the store.  Thousands of items, big and small, are piled high round the room - everything from a warning notice that throwing stones at trains can be punished by 'penal servitude for life' to a chamber pot from the Midland Grand Hotel at St Pancras.


We highly recommend it - and entrance is free!  More details here

5 more family Join us for The Weald and Downland Museum

The other day of note is when we met up with the other five family members (if you’ve been keeping count, you will realise that I’ve only mentioned fifteen so far) who joined us at Singleton to visit the Weald and Downland Museum. Jon, Kerry, Layla, Tariq and Kalif drove down for the day from Maidstone and we found one another easily – hooray for mobile phones.

After an enjoyable visit, Shirley and David stayed on to see more and the rest of us went to a nearby pub for a meal and a catch up on news.