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.

Sissinghurst Castle Gardens

Sissinghurst Castle Gardens are claimed to be the most visited in England. Certainly they were incredibly busy on the Monday we went along. Visitors from many countries and all ages thronged the garden with cameras and notebooks – this is a ‘Gardeners’ Garden’ and has been influential, not just in designing stately homes but for many small gardens.

Vita Sackville-West and Sir Harold Nicolson found the property derelict in 1930. Harold wrote in his diary that they found a vast accumulation of rubbish: ‘rusty iron, old bedsteads, old ploughshares, old cabbage stalks, old broken-down earth closets, old matted wire and mountains of sardine tins, all muddled up in a tangle of bindweed, nettles and ground elder’.

From this unpromising beginning, they created a beautiful garden. Harold was a classicist and laid out the structural scheme of the garden, dividing it into a series of compartments which could each be viewed separately.  The lime walk was his pride and joy.

Vita was a romantic and the planting which fills the flower beds shows it. Possibly the most famous ‘room’ in the whole garden is the White Garden.

 

The couple first opened the garden to the public in 1938. The proceeds raised £25.14s.6d and Vita nicknamed the visitors 'shillingses', as one shilling (5p) was the admission price. There are accounts of visitors encountering Vita working in the garden and chatting to her.  She gave cuttings to visitors and enjoyed correspondence with some of them.

Vita died in 1962 and Harold and her two sons decided that the best way to preserve the garden was for ownership to be transferred to the National Trust. This was completed in April 1967.

We took 183 usable photos between us and a few are up on Picasa.  I wish we could share them all with you.

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.

Lanhydrock, Cornwall

Lanhydrock is a National Trust Property in Cornwall and one of the best houses in the country for a visit. We went with Rosie, Mike and Dan and had most of the day there. The weather was lovely and it is well worth a visit.

They don't allow you to take photos in the house but the gardens are a photographer's dream. The rest of the photos are here