Wickerwork wild animals in the woods at Knightshayes Court in the neighbouring county of Devonshire.

Yesterday my wife and I visited one of our favourite National Trust estates, Knightshayes Court in the neighbouring county of Devonshire.  We arrived at 1pm and decided lunch was the first item on the agenda.  There was a queue in the well patronised restaurant, but we easily found a table and were speedily served a baked potato each and tea for two.  After our very enjoyable meal, having toured the house on a previous visit, we decided to explore the woods and gardens to the east. 

During a pleasant stroll in alternating sunshine and shade we came upon some intriguing wickerwork animals placed here and there alongside the footpaths.  Unfortunately I don’t know the names of the artists who created these remarkable works of art.

The deer, horse and foxes were life-size, but I have yet to encounter such an enormous badger!    

Wickerwork deer in the woods at Knightshayes Court in Devonshire.

Wickerwork horse in the woods east of the house at Knightshayes Court in Devonshire.

Wickerwork foxes play in the woods at Knightshayes Court in Devonshire.

A larger than life wickerwork badger emerges from the undergrowth at Knightshayes Court in Devonshire.

The statue of Edward Colston in Bristol. Will it have to go and what might replace it?

On Russia Today recently (July 25) notable left-winger Lee Jasper and Stephen Morris of the English Democrats debated the issue of the statue of Edward Colston – prominent philanthropist involved in the slave trade – which stands in a conspicuous position in the centre of Bristol. 

As Stephen Morris points out, the African slave trade existed long before European slavers became involved.  Europeans should take their fair share of the blame for the evils of slavery, but not all of it.  History records that Africans captured and enslaved their fellow Africans before selling them on to European and Arab slave merchants. 

Bristol merchants such as Colston, despite their local philanthropy, must inevitably take their share of responsibility for the horrors which helped make their fortunes.  In these politically correct times it seems inevitable to me that sooner or later Edward Colston’s statue will have to go, but what should replace it?

I suggest a couple of alternative memorials, both of equal merit.  My first is for Hannah More (1745-1833), poet, playwright, and advocate of social reform and the abolition of slavery, she was one of the most significant women of her times.  Furthermore, she was born in Fishponds, Bristol, and lived for many a year in nearby Wrington just a few miles south-west of the city.  She returned to Bristol for her final years before her death in Clifton. 

My other suggestion is for a memorial to the men of the Royal Navy’s African Squadron whose mission was to put the slavers out of business.  Between 1807, when Parliament passed the Abolition of the Slave Trade Act, and 1860 the squadron seized around 1,600 ships involved in the slave trade and freed 150,000 Africans who were aboard them.  This was not without cost to the Royal Navy crews involved.  In 1829, the squadron’s worst year, 204 out of 792 men died, mainly of malaria or yellow fever.  Between 1830 and 1865 around 1,587 men were killed in action, in accidents or from disease.  The mortality rate was 55 in every 1,000 men – more than 5 times the rate of a crew serving in healthier climates nearer home.  A memorial would be a fitting tribute to their courage, fortitude and sacrifice.

For those interested in the Royal Navy’s part in abolishing the slave trade I recommend Bernard Edwards’ Royal Navy versus the Slave Traders: Enforcing Abolition at Sea 1808-1898 (Pen & Sword, 2007).    

To view the debate on RT between Lee Jasper and the English Democrats' Stephen Morris, here is a link:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Aw4yJTriYHw&feature=youtu.be

The Ancient Mariner and Yankee Jack on The Esplanade overlooking Watchet Marina on the Somerset Coast.

It was a pleasant April day – pleasant days have been a rarity so far this year – so my wife and I decided on an afternoon drive up the A358 toward Watchet on the coast of Somerset.  The road was not very busy at all so it was an enjoyable saunter to Williton viewing the Quantock Hills to our right and the Brendon Hills to our left.

In Watchet we left the car in the spacious car park off Market Street and headed, in welcome sunshine, for The Esplanade.  The splendid life size statues of The Ancient Mariner and Yankee Jack, both by Scottish sculptor Alan Beattie Herriot, are in proportion to their surroundings and are an asset to the area overlooking The Marina.  Another pleasing sculpture was Watchet’s war memorial, next to the Library, which has a cross and inscription panel supported by a pier of sandbags – an unusual, but somehow fitting design.  After enjoying the view from The Esplanade we spent some time in the small, but extremely informative and well-presented Museum before heading out along the harbour wall to the lighthouse.

By the time we reached the lighthouse it was beginning to get a little chilly so as we headed back to the car we decided to search for something to eat.  On turning into Swain Street from Market Street we found Sam’s Deli, and a couple of warm sausage rolls served by a friendly and obliging young woman and man.

After a very agreeable afternoon in Watchet we headed on along the B3191 to Blue Anchor to re-join the A39 for Williton, then home to South Somerset.  

 

The statue of The Ancient Mariner on The Esplanade in Watchet, Somerset.

The Ancient Mariner on The Esplanade overlooking the Marina and Harbour at Watchet on the coast of Somerset. 

The Ancient Mariner.

The words on the plaque at the base of the Statue tell the tale.

“This statue was commissioned in 2002 by the Watchet Market House Museum Society.  It was sculpted by Alan B. Herriot of Penicuik, Scotland and erected in 2003 as a tribute to Samuel Taylor Coleridge.

This renowned poet resided for some years at the nearby village of Nether Stowey.  In 1797, whilst on a walking tour, Coleridge visited Watchet.  On seeing the harbour he was inspired to compose one of the best known poems in English literature, “The Rime of the Ancient Mariner”.”

The statue of John Short ("Yankee Jack") on The Esplanade in Watchet, Somerset.

Yankee Jack.

An information board on The Esplanade tells the story of the life of Yankee Jack.  Here are a few paragraphs from that story.

“JOHN SHORT (“YANKEE JACK”), 1839-1933”

"The adjacent statue was erected as a tribute to John Short, Watchet’s famous shantyman.  For over 40 years as able seaman and later as bos’un he sailed the world in a great variety of sailing ships.  In the 1860s some of John’s ships ran the blockade in the American Civil War and because of this he was affectionately awarded the nickname of “Yankee Jack” by Watchet townsfolk.

It was a tradition aboard large sailing ships for sailors to sing sea shanties.  This assisted them to work together when hoisting sails or walking around the capstan etc.  John Short’s strong and tuneful voice often led him to take the role of solo shantyman, and over the years he memorised the words and tunes of dozens of shanties, including the well-known Rio Grande, Shenandoah, Blow the Man Down, A Roving and Spanish Ladies. 

In 1902 he was appointed as Watchet’s Town Crier and later took charge of the town’s fire brigade.  He continued to sing with other sailors around the harbourside and occasionally at local concerts.

In 1914, at the age of 75, he was introduced by the Reverend Dr. Allen Brockington, of nearby Carhampton, to Cecil Sharp, an eminent collector of folk songs and shanties.  Sharp was very impressed with the old sailor’s singing and declared that “John Short’s rich, powerful, yet flexible voice would excite the envy of many a professional vocalist”.   

Later Sir Richard Terry, another distinguished collector, visited John to gather and publish yet more shanties from his repertoire.  Had these two renowned gentlemen not met “Yankee Jack” many delightful old songs of the sailors could have been lost for ever."

An angel watches over a lane leading to Felton Common in North Somerset.

Just north of Bristol Airport on the A38 at Lulsgate Bottom is the road east to Felton, Winford and Chew Magna.  Take that road and 100 yards past the cattle grid you will see on your right a lane lined by aged beech trees which leads to St. Katharine’s Church and Felton Common.

Standing at the entrance to the lane is a striking statue of an angel looking skywards.  It was carved from a dying beech tree by Gloucestershire artist Ant Beetlestone in 2010.

An angel watches over a lane leading to Felton Common in North Somerset.

The angel carved from a beech tree at Felton Common in North Somerset. 

The statue of Admiral Robert Blake in Bridgwater, Somerset. Oliver Cromwell's "General at Sea".

I have tried several times to take a decent photo of Admiral Robert Blake’s statue in Bridgwater, but it has always been in the shade.  My latest attempt, below, is my best to date as it is silhouetted against a pleasing clear blue sky. 

The statue of Robert Blake, Cromwell's "General at Sea", in Bridgwater, Somerset.  Erected in the town centre, it was unveiled 1900. 

Robert Blake was born in Bridgwater in 1598, one of 13 children.  A graduate of Oxford University he is said to have become a merchant and travelled the continent.   He became Bridgwater’s MP in 1640.

Blake played a prominent role in the English Civil War, early on being a key figure in the siege of Lyme Regis in Dorsetshire where Royalist forces, although outnumbering the Parliamentarian defenders by six to one, were held at bay until the town was relieved.
 

As Colonel Robert Blake he commanded Parliamentary forces successfully defending Taunton which was besieged by Royalist forces from July 1644 to July 1645.  Blake famously declared he “had four pairs of boots and would eat three pairs before he would surrender”.

Appointed as Oliver Cromwell’s “General at Sea” in 1649, he set in train the expansion of the fleet to become the largest England had possessed up until that time. 

The Commonwealth built 210 new warships by 1660.  He produced the Navy’s first ever ‘Rules and Regulations’ and reorganised tactics which would become the foundation of English Naval Tactics in the age of sail.  Little wonder he was known as the “Father of the Royal Navy".

During the English Civil War he blockaded and eventually defeated the Royalist Fleet of Prince Rupert of the Rhine.  He won victories against the Portuguese, Dutch (First Anglo Dutch War, 1652-1654) and Spanish (Anglo-Spanish War, 1654-1660).

He died at sea off Plymouth in 1657.