A stroll around the Somerset village of Muchelney, its abbey ruins and Church of St. Peter and St. Paul.

Edward Hutton in his Highways and Byways in Somerset first published in 1912 writes of Muchelney: “But the ruins of Muchelney Abbey, lovely as they are, are by no means all there is to be seen in the beautiful island of Muchelney.  The church is interesting, though its double windowed tower is not very splendid.  Perhaps more interesting is the dear little vicarage house upon the north side of it across the road, dating perhaps from the fourteenth century; and there is a good though restored village cross.”

 I visited Muchelney in the Somerset Levels on a fine afternoon in late May.  I drove from Curry Rivel south along narrow twisting lanes, frequently lined with the delicate white flowers of cow parsley, through the picturesque village of Drayton, over the River Parrett at Westover Bridge and into the village.

Leaving the car by the Church of St. Peter and St. Paul, avoiding the no parking signs, I explored the church and its graveyard.  Inside, the five panel stained glass east window and the Jacobean painted ceiling were impressive.  The churchyard gave a good view of the remains of the abbey.

The Church of St. Peter and St. Paul in the Somerset village of Muchelney.

The east window of the Church of St. Peter and St. Paul in Muchelney, Somerset.

The ceiling of the nave in the Church of St. Peter and St. Paul in Muchelney, Somerset.

The early nineteenth century organ in the Church of St. Peter and St. Paul at Muchelney, Somerset. 

I took some photos of the village cross and then peeped through the gate of the Priest’s House which is now a private residence in the care of The National Trust, and open only at certain times.

The village cross at Muchelney in Somerset

The Priest's House (National Trust) at Muchelney in Somerset.

A couple of hundred yards further south is the entrance to the car park for Muchelney Abbey.  I left the car by the church and set off on foot.  The Abbey is looked after by English Heritage, and there is an entrance fee.  I opted to take some photos of the ruins from the car park, and perhaps pay for a closer look another day.  The foundations we see today were revealed largely by the exertions of the Rev. S.O. Baker in 1873.

The foundations of Muchelney Abbey in Somerset.  The Church of St. Peter and St. Paul is in the background.

Monks first came to Muchelney in the seventh century, but the abbey was abandoned in the ninth century probably because of the depredations caused by Viking raids.  It is said that King Athelstan re-founded the abbey in 939 as a thank offering for his great victory over the Celtic-Norse army at Brunanburgh in 937.  It then grew in size and status until Henry the Eighth’s Suppression of the Monasteries.  In 1538, two years after the Act of Suppression was passed in 1536, the abbey was torn down leaving only the abbot’s lodging and the monks’ latrine to survive as farm buildings.  Hutton devotes four pages to Muchelney, and they are very well worth reading.

Thoughts on the performance of some of the minor parties in the UK's 2019 General Election.

I must admit to being surprised at the result of the GE.  The Conservatives' 80 seat majority was far larger than I thought it would be as I was expecting one of 20 seats or less.  I did not expect the Labour vote to drop 8 percentage points or the Liberal Democrats to do as well as they did, I had expected the Labour Party to squeeze their vote.

Be that as it may, the minor parties I have been following recently did not retain any of their deposits, and one did not stand at all.

Anne- Marie Waters’ For Britain Movement did not stand any candidates as far as I can see, although they have won a smattering of council seats during the year.  Perhaps the leadership of this fledgling party were wise not to risk their money until it has made further progress. 

William Clouston’s SDP stood a respectable 20 candidates, but they only managed, on average, around 160 votes each.  The Party is centre left and believes in Nationhood and an English Parliament, so it will be interesting to see if they can make a bigger impact as a result of Labour’s disinterest in patriotism.

Robin Tilbrook’s English Democrats stood in only 5 seats and received around 2,000 votes in total. An average of about 400 votes per candidate looks like its norm for General Elections over the past 10 years.  They seem to have plenty of money and more members as a result of the publicity garnered from pursuing Brexit through the courts.  Now Brexit appears certain to happen perhaps the Party should focus on campaigning for an English Parliament and promoting and protecting English culture, heritage and traditions.. 

The Yorkshire Party stood 28 candidates in the county from which it takes its name, and garnered around 30,000 votes.  I suspect it may do well in regional elections if the Conservatives decide to break up England into regions.

With the Conservatives’ massive majority it will be some considerable time before the next General Election.   In such circumstances it will be interesting to see if any of the minor parties flourish at sub-national level, or simply wither and die for lack of electoral opportunities and the publicity that gives them.

English is an “imperialist internationalist culture”? Not according to former Labour MP John Denham.

The favourite tactic of those who don’t like English nationhood or culture is to call into question the very existence of English identity and culture.  Professor John Denham gives his answer to an article in the New Statesman.  I came across his letter, reproduced below, in the edition of The Week published December 7.



Feeling English

To the New Statesman

Alex Niven tells Jason Crowley that the English “don’t exist as a national culture because we were an imperialist internationalist culture”.  Why is it such claims are made by people who don’t feel English, but not by those who do?

The Empire – which engaged the Scots and the Welsh as much as the English – was British.  Boris Johnson and his allies are Anglo-centric British nationalists who rarely talk about England.  Those who emphasise their English identity, by contrast, tend to be sceptical about the Union and want the interests of England itself protected.

England’s future story must reflect the nation as we are today, building on English and British identities as we now know them.  Condemning Englishness with inaccurate caricatures simply makes that harder.

Professor John Denham, Centre for English Identity and Politics, University of Southampton.


Incidentally, Professor Denham mentions the Scots and the Welsh as having a role in British empire-building.  He could also have mentioned the Irish who literally fought for it.  Some of the most famous regiments in the British Army were Irish.  One only has look at the battle honours awarded to Irish regiments to realise the vital role they played in establishing and maintaining the British Empire.

An autumn stroll around the gardens and orchards of Barrington Court, near Ilminster, in South Somerset.

A couple of days after the Autumnal Equinox, with the weather calm and warm, my wife and I visited the National Trust’s Barrington Court in South Somerset.  We have explored the Elizabethan mansion before so we decided to make the most of the sunshine and stroll around the grounds. 

Heading for the gate to the Rose and Iris Garden we passed the Herbaceous Border which was alive with bees busily working away, especially on the Michaelmas daisies.  It was quite a contrast to our own garden; we now see only an occasional bee whereas just a month ago our lavenders were bustling with them.

Bees among the Michaelmas daisies in the Herbaceous Border at Barrington Court in South Somerset.

In the Lily Garden I spent some time taking photos of Strode House and the pond.  Built of red brick in 1674 for William Strode II, Strode House was originally a massive stable block for 12 horses and 2 coaches.  It was converted into a home for the family of Colonel Arthur Lyle, a director of the famous Tate & Lyle sugar refining company, who took a 99 year lease on Barrington Court in 1920.  The Lily Garden was designed by Gertrude Jekyll and the architect J. E. Forbes, a friend of Colonel Lyle.

Strode House at Barrington Court in South Somerset.

The pond in the Lily Garden at Barrington Court.

Moving on across the South Lawn we noticed a huge lime tree standing by the entrance to the East Orchard was graced with an abundance of mistletoe.  Inside the East Orchard we sat in the shade for a while watching the acrobatic capers of a couple of squirrels, and then walked on through the arches in the neatly trimmed beech hedges either side of the Lime Walk. 

Mistletoe in a lime tree at Barrington Court.

We turned back toward the Elizabethan mansion house and arrived at the north front, the main entrance, of Barrington Court.  Taking the path around the east wing back to the south lawn I noticed the churchlike diagonal buttresses on the corners of the house – a pleasing feature.

After a couple of hours in South Somerset’s fresh autumn air it was time to head back to the car; while doing so my wife noticed some cyclamen growing in the shade beneath three oak trees.  Needless to say, we took photos.

Cyclamen, caught in a sunbeam, beneath oak trees at Barrington Court in South Somerset.

Heavy horses in action at Yesterday's Farming event on the Dillington Park Estate, South Somerset.

Last Sunday I decided to visit the Dillington Park Estate where the South Somerset Agricultural Preservation Club was staging its Yesterday’s Farming event.  Fortunately there has been very little rain recently so the stubble field on which the event took place was baked dry – firm going underfoot!

On entering the site, adjacent to the picturesque park, the first event I came across was a ploughing display by teams of heavy horses.  I stayed for a good while viewing these magnificent creatures in action - and took photos.  It was spellbinding to watch them at work and see ploughing as it would have been before the tractor. 

A team of heavy horses in action at the Yesterday's Farming event on the Dillington Park Estate, South Somerset.

 

Sam and Tilly at the Yesterday's Farming event on the Dillington Park Estate, South Somerset.

Heavy horses at the South Somerset Agricultural Preservation Club's Yesterday's Farming event on August 19th at the Dillington Park Estate in South Somerset.

Angel and Lad at the Yesterday's Farming event on Lord Cameron's Dillington Park Estate in South Somerset.

I could not fathom from the Programme who the owners and handlers of these teams were, but their horses were beautifully presented and a credit to them.

A stroll around the centre of the ancient South Somerset market town of Ilminster.

Recently I had a quick stroll around the historic centre of Ilminster, one of South Somerset’s ancient market towns.  Mentioned in the Domesday Book, the town takes its name from the little River Isle which passes close by and the Church of St. Mary, also known as The Minster. 

At the bottom of North Street is The George public house, obviously once a coaching inn, where the plaque above the door proudly states: “Queen Victoria stopped here one night, 23rd December 1819, this hotel being the first at which she ever stayed”.  However, I doubt that the future Queen Victoria remembered much of her visit to Ilminster as she was less than a year old at the time and travelling with her father, the Duke of Kent, to Sidmouth in Devonshire.

The George public house in Ilminster, South Somerset.

A few more steps brought me to the Market Square where stands the Market House with its Tuscan columns.  It was “newly built in 1813” according to Pevsner. Its colourful hanging baskets and the nearby traditional phone box made a picturesque photo.  

The Market House in Ilminster, South Somerset.

On the wall next to the Co-op a very informative information board shows a timeline of Ilminster’s eventful past.  Opposite, next to Boots, another information board tells of the Pitchfork Rebellion of 1685 and Ilminster’s role in the Duke of Monmouth’s doomed bid to seize throne of England.

Turning west along Silver Street soon brings into view the imposing Church of St. Mary behind which stands what was once Ilminster Grammar School.  The school is described by Arthur Mee in his The King's England, Somerset (Hodder and Stoughton Ltd, 1968) as: “. . . proudly facing the churchyard, a fine Tudor building with massive walls, stone mullions, a grand old doorway, ancient glass in the windows, and a sundial which has marked the sunny hours since Elizabeth I’s day.”  The school closed in 1971 and has been converted into private dwellings.

St. Mary's Church, known as The Minster, in Ilminster, South Somerset.  The building on the right behind the church is what used to be Ilminster Grammar School. 

I cut back through Church Walk to North Street and, having taken some photos, my short stroll around Ilminster’s town centre was over.   

Road tunnel plan to hide Stonehenge from those travelling on the A303 "severely flawed".

It seems that not everyone is as enthusiastic about the proposed £1.6 billion A303 road tunnel at Stonehenge as the National Trust, English Heritage and Historic England, the agencies which care for the ancient site.  According to the Museums Association, Peter Marsden chairman of the International Council on Monuments and Sites UK has suggested the project should be put on hold as it is “severely flawed”.*

Sir Simon Jenkins, former chairman of the National Trust, has also criticised the 1.8 mile tunnel in a letter to The Times.  He, quite rightly in my opinion, questions why those travelling on the A303 should be deprived of an appreciative glimpse of the stones.  Below is his letter which I came across in the May 5 edition of The Week. 

    

Don’t hide Stonehenge.

To The Times

There seems to be an assumption that Stonehenge belongs to archaeologists and English Heritage.  Most people who enjoy the stones do so from vehicles on the A303.  The stones look magnificent from this distance.  They have no need of close inspection.  They can be appreciated at a glimpse, without need of visitor centres, car parks and multi-million pound tunnels. 

Why should the overwhelming majority of those who enjoy Stonehenge be deprived of this pleasure at vast public expense to satisfy a profession and a quango?

Sir Simon Jenkins, National Trust chairman, 2008-2014.

* https://www.museumsassociation.org/museums-journal/news/02052018-icomos-uk-stonehenge-road-tunnel-criticised

The King William IV in Curry Rivel, South Somerset. Another pub set to disappear?

A few days ago I happened to be passing an estate agents window when my attention was drawn to a photo advertising the sale of The King William IV public house in the South Somerset village of Curry Rivel. This village of some two thousand souls which sprawls along the A378 a mile or two south west of Langport now has only one pub, The Firehouse, when not so long ago it had three; the Bell Hotel closed some years ago and is now being redeveloped for residential use.  According to the estate agent it seems the same fate may befall The King William IV!

The King William IV pub in the village of Curry Rivel in South Somerset. Photographed on 3rd May 2018.

A little research reveals that pubs, an intrinsic part of England’s culture and heritage, have closed at the rate of 2 per day over the last year, not quite as bad as the rate in 2014 when 29 were closing each week.*  

While on the subject of closures I read that Royal Bank of Scotland is closing another 162 branches across England and Wales.  According to a report in the Mirror, since 2015 the banks have closed 1,944 branches with another 642 to close this year.**  Furthermore, today I came across a YouTube webcast by Anne Marie Waters, leader of The For Britain Movement, in which she deplores the collapse of another 1,500 high street stores due to soaring business rates as reported in the Daily Express.*** 

It appears that the retail and social infrastructure of our towns and villages are slowly fading away while it seems Lib/Lab/Con politicians at national and local level shrug their shoulders, turn their backs, and walk away.

*https://www.thedrinksbusiness.com/2018/02/rate-of-uk-pub-closures-has-slowed-to-two-per-day/

**https://www.mirror.co.uk/money/more-519-bank-branch-closures-12460452

***https://www.express.co.uk/news/uk/952659/High-street-shops-closing-figures-report