Tong Church – in search of Little Nell

Tong is a little village not far from Wolverhampton.  The only thing we knew about it was that, in its churchyard is the ‘reputed’ grave of Little Nell. As it is on the way to Whitwick Manor, we stopped off expecting to spend ten minutes in the graveyard.

It’s not often that you find a grave for a fictional character but here is one.

The key is in the word ‘reputed’, of course.  Charles Dickens did visit Tong where his Grandmother had been housekeeper at Tong Castle before marrying William Dickens in 1781.  It is believed that he set the scene of the death of Little Nell in Tong.

The Old Curiosity Shop was a big hit in America and tourists started arriving looking for the grave so, in about 1910, a verger and village postmaster, George Bowden forged an entry in the church register of burials and set up the ‘grave’, charging people to see it.

Poor Little Nell!  Her grave plaque has been moved several times to make room for ‘real’ burials.

We thought this was quite fun and were unprepared to be impressed by the church itself – perhaps we should do more research!  Built 600 years ago on the site of an older church, it was founded by Dame Isabel Pembrugge, seen below carved on her monument.

The wreath of roses round her head is placed there on MidSummer’s day.  Before the Reformation, it would have been placed on a statue of Mary, the mother of Jesus but a little thing like the reformation can’t keep down a tradition..

Part of our good luck was to be met by a local man who is interested in the Church and tends the churchyard as a volunteer so we got a private tour.

The most exciting thing about these monuments is that they show traces of the paint which once covered most of the interior of our churches.

The book, ‘Discovering Tong’ tells us that 

“The whole Chantry is remarkable with its fan vaulting ceiling, which was originally painted in green, red and gold. The vaulting is very like that in the Henry VII Chapel in Westminster Abbey. The size of the Tong Chapel is much smaller, what could be achieved is restricted. It is the only surviving piece of medieval fan vaulting in Shropshire. On the east wall are the remains of a rood painting. Some of the colour is still quite bright.”

Our guide showed us another lovely detail.  The roundels above are repeated many times and a wood carver got bored.

That gave us quite a chuckle and made the workmen of 1406 seem real.

 

 

 

 

 

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Fossils and Wine in A Courtyard

An unlikely combination brought about by a very hot day, a search for some Olympic history and a close encounter of the paleontological kind.

We went to hunt for The Raven Hotel in Much Wenlock, the scene of meetings between William Penny Brookes who started the Much Wenlock Olympian Games in 1850 and Baron Pierre de Coubertain who is often credited with the modern revival of the Olympic Games.

It was hot, we were thirsty and the rather smart hotel didn’t really take in passing trade for drinks.  The Manager (owner?) kindly offered to serve us in the courtyard and out we went into the shade.

A couple walked through, obviously going to their room and my eye was caught by a large piece of rock in the man’s hand.  Well, you know me!  I’ll talk to anyone – after all, the worst they can do is ignore me.  So I called out “that looks like an interesting piece of rock.”

It certainly was and the three of us spent some time in discussions of ‘fossils we have known’.  Our new friend’s wife disappeared very quickly so I assume she was not so interested!

The rock was mudstone and absolutely filled with brachiopods from 400 million years ago when a warm sea covered the area around Wenlock Edge. A geology hammer were wielded and we were presented with a section of the rock.

The Manager looked on mystified at the antics but then became enthused when he discovered why we were visiting. He had a lot of information on the history of the Much Wenlock Games and we spent a fascinating half hour looking at pictures and mementoes.

Wenlock, one of the two mascots, is named after the village because of the history.  If you think Wenlock and Mandeville are a little weird, you are not alone.  Have a look at this site and be sure to scroll down to previous mascots.  Perhaps ours aren’t so way out after all.

By the way, the wine was excellent.