A Trip to Siddington at Harvest Time

For many years we've heard about the harvest decorations at the church at Siddington in Cheshire but this weekend was the first time we managed to get along to see them.  The church is 15th century and timber framed, but was clad in brick in the early 19th century as the walls began to bulge under the heavy stone roof.  Later, painted lines suggested the hidden timbers.

The church harvest decorations had deservedly drawn the crowds who were given a warm welcome.

But stepping inside was truly breathtaking.

The church was illuminated by corn dollies everywhere, over one thousand of them.

They are made by Raymond Rush, now 84 years old, who was still busy making more dollies in his workshop alongside the church during our visit. Usually the corn dollies are just regarded as a 'fertility symbol', an all-too-convenient tag given to traditions that some people just can't understand.  I'm yet to be convinced about any real origin for the making of corn dollies, though I do like the idea of them holding the 'spirit of the corn'.  Imagine the life of the wheat escaping the scythe until it reaches the last stand of corn, when this is cut you would know you have the spirit in that straw.  Making it into a dolly keeps it safe through the winter then it is broken with due ceremony on Plough Monday to release the spirit back into the soil to give life to the new year's crop.

Whatever the true origin, they are different between regions and have changed through time.  It seemed very fitting then to have corn dollies reflecting the Diamond Jubilee and Olympics this year.

The harvest decorations at Siddington are an amazing sight and I'm very glad we got to see them.  If you get the chance to visit, do take it.

A Pepys Pilgrimage

Aside from the living history, music and storytelling that we do with Pilgrims and Posies, I spend a good deal of time in character as Samuel Pepys, for school pupils exploring the Great Fire of London at Weaver Hall Museum.  Whilst I wouldn't quite call him my alter ego, I have developed quite an interest and affection for Mr Pepys. 

So, last week when Sue was attending a meeting at Kings College London about the forthcoming exhibition "Discover a Medieval City: Places, Voices, Journeys" and all the associated events that will be happening in Chester next year, I took the opportunity to go to London with her and trace some of the places associated with Sam and the Great Fire, a sort of pilgrimage for me, though not of my usual medieval style.

So I wandered from Covent Garden along Fleet Street and towards St Pauls, passing a couple of older buildings that had survived the Great Fire, and perhaps more miraculously later city developments.  Tucked away off Fleet Street was the location of Sam's birthplace and childhood home on Salisbury Court, there is a plaque but nobody seems to notice it.

Not so far away is St Bride's Church, where Sam was baptised, and would have attended services in his early years.  It was later destroyed in the Fire, rebuilt by Wren with the prototype of the wedding cake steeple, and destroyed once more in the Blitz.  The clear up of the latter devastation revealed earlier churches on the site and archaeology from Roman times to the 16th century which can be seen in the crypt. 

Then on past a great many more Wren churches and St Paul's itself.  Emblematic of the city it may be, but I've never liked his style, no character or emotion at all to my mind, especially considering what was there before.  The Great Fire may have swept away dirty cramped streets and crumbling churches, but with it lots of old tales and charm.

I paid a visit to the Museum of London, which has had several new galleries since I went a couple of years ago and very good they are too.  When you do so much work on a theme like the Great Fire, it is wonderful to see original buckets, helmets, firehooks etc, even when you've seen them many times before.  I resisted the urge to stop other visitors who were wandering by uninterested or dazed by the many thousands of treasures in the museum and tell them they should be looking at these.  The new gallery exploring the Blitz had some photographs and memories playing that just stopped me in my tracks.  These are tales, so horrific that only now are they starting to be told as those that lived through them approach the end of their time.  Yes, there was a blitz spirit, but there was also a much much darker side.  Go along to hear for yourself, I couldn't begin to do justice to the reminiscences.

Then I made my way over towards the seat of the Great Fire on Pudding Lane,

but chose not to climb the Monument on this occasion, I've done that a couple of years ago and got the certificate to prove it.

Not so very far away was Seething Lane, the site of the Navy Office buildings where Samuel Pepys lived during his diary years, though his home survived the Great Fire, it was destroyed in a smaller blaze some years later.  Today there is a small garden and a bronze of Mr Pepys and a nearby street has been named in his honour, I'm sure Sam would have been pleased and amused to see this.

Just nearby is St Olave's Hart Street where Sam and Elizabeth went to church regularly.  It was the first time I've been able to get inside for a look, and to see the beautiful monument Mr Pepys had made for his young wife Elizabeth, a vibrant image looking directly at the Navy Office pew where Sam would have been sitting each Sunday.  He was later buried under the communion altar, but didn't get his own monumental inscription until the publication of his diaries over a century and a half after his death.

So, the city is much changed since Samuel Pepys' time, but there is still a lot he would recognise and for me it was a chance to get better acquainted with both the place and the man.  Now, in two days time I will be donning the periwig once more for the first of thirty or so Great Fire of London workshops I'll be doing this autumn...

Return to the Water Tower

A couple of weekends ago we were back in the Water Tower on the Chester city walls, as it was one of the many historic places that welcomed visitors for Heritage Open Days.  We've done this event for eight years now and it always brings out a great number of people who are walking the walls and keen to have a peep inside.

We set up displays exploring pilgrimage in medieval Chester and also music as the tower's rib vaulting gives a great acoustic.

The tower was built in 1322, at the grand cost of £100, to guard the port of Chester.  At this time, the port was the most important in the North West of England with spices, wine, stone and cloth being imported and hides, wool and salt heading out.  It was also the main route to Ireland.  As the River Dee had been silting up and changing course away from the city walls, an extra spur wall had to be built and a new tower in the river itself.  This could then be used defensively and to check the amount of goods coming in so the appropriate tolls and taxes could be levied.  Within another 150 years the river had shifted its course again and the tower was left high and dry.  As it is difficult today to imagine the scene of a bustling port in its 14th century heyday, we asked Vanessa Ryall to produce a medieval style painted hanging to depict it.  She did this wonderfully as you can see, not just capturing the style of the period, but also getting in all of the city buildings in correct detail and location.  Some people are just too talented...

We'll be back at the Water Tower on Halloween Night for two sessions of "Dark Tales at the Tower".  Come along if you enjoy creepy, unsettling folk tales!

The Hermit's Haunt

We made a return visit to one of the best castles in England, Warkworth in Northumberland.  If you're after a classic medieval fortress, this is the place.

We wandered around the labyrinthine keep and the many majestic towers within the castle.

But then it was off for a stroll along the River Coquet below the castle, where herons glided by gracefully, until we reached a ferry crossing.  We clambered aboard a boat, our unfamiliarity with such vessels causing it to wobble, but we stayed afloat and we were rowed across the water.

Then it was a short stroll along a wooded path...

Past an upside-down tree...

Until we glimpsed a medieval hermitage framed by branches.

Entering the hermitage we passed under an image of the Crucifixion carved in the rock, though weathered by the wind and rain of centuries.

Inside the hermitage appears as any other medieval chapel with rib vaulting and roof bosses, except that here it is simply for effect as the whole thing is carved into a sandstone cliff.

Every architectural detail is there in the rock, with pillars and corbels everywhere, a sort of Northumbrian Petra in miniature.

The hermit himself would have slept in an adjacent room, also carved in the rock, where he could look through the deep windows to the chapel. 

Later generations of hermits had extensions built outside for their accomodation.  Now, I often think I could live in many of the historic places we visit, but despite its quirky charm, this didn't quite give the same cosy feeling.

And then it was a wander back along the river, as we wondered whether the hermit would really have spent his time praying for the souls of the Percys of Warkworth Castle in his hideaway half a mile away and tucked into a cliff on the other side of the river. 

The ferryman gave us more details about the job to help us consider the position of hermit; a salary of 20 marks a year and the rights to sell all the firewood along the riverbank.  We chose to cross the water and leave behind the little chapel in the rock.

Keeping House at Plas Mawr

We've just returned from a lovely day working at Plas Mawr in Conwy.  It's been one of our favourite places for a long time and we've visited a couple of times a year for over a decade, but in recent years been delighted to work in the house and help bring it to life.

Plas Mawr claims to be the best preserved Elizabethan town house in Britain and I'm sure they're quite right to say that.  The building sprawls out over several levels, with dozens of rooms inside, two courtyards and a grand gatehouse too but all squeezed into a plot in the centre of the medieval town.

The interior is beautifully dressed and evocative of the period, but usually without people to bring it to life, so that's the reason we were there.  Sue set up a housekeeping display in the wonderful kitchen, demonstrating everything from cooking, through cleaning and keeping away pests to household medicine.

I was lucky enough to spend the day in the parlour, playing some Tudor tunes, chatting about bagpipes and just enjoying meeting lots of visitors with fascinating stories.

Outside, the Company of Artisans were working wonders with plaster demonstrating how the wonderful plaster decorated ceilings at Plas Mawr were constructed.  They do a fantastic job engaging the public and had a wonderfully constructed wall and ceiling which they plastered in completely authentic manner during the day, as well as making miniature plaster casts for the children visiting, this was the results of my effort..!

After all the times we've been to visit this ancient house, it still holds a magic and charm.

Musitioners get their Licences

Bit of a delay, but we've only just got the pictures from the happenings at this year's Minstrels' Court and it has been a pleasure looking back at the event, the best yet, and that's down to all of the support of many friends who came to share their musical skills or historic crafts.  Thank you!  It is a unique happening, but simply would not happen without this help and friendly support. 

Far too much was happening to show it all, but here's a taster.

The day began with musicians gathering from across the land, including Lincolnshire, Yorkshire, South Wales, Leicestershire, Warwickshire, Northamptonshire and of course many from Cheshire.

There were living history demonstrations featuring a range of historic characters.

Minstrels and visitors enjoyed Renaissance dance workshops.

Lively performances took place in the chancel of St John's,

Whilst informal sessions took place in the porch.

The Minstrels left for a perambulation of the city,

Wandering down Eastgate to the Cross at the centre of the city was a rousing show and introduced today's Cestrians to a range of wonderful instruments, not least English bagpipes!

The Minstrels played a medieval processional tune all the way from the Cross to St Johns,

Where we got our licences in a recreation of the original ceremony.

Then shared more music through the day and a memorable evening concert.

We're doing it all again next year, Saturday 15th June 2013, once more in the original and authentic location of the church of St John the Baptist, Chester.  See you there!