November Visit to Herefordshire

 

Last week we went to Herefordshire for four nights.

Here is Timothy by the latest non fiction book I have been reading at the caravan - The Heraldic Roll of Ludlow Castle. It is a fascinating book especially if you are interested in heraldry.

Unfortunately and irritatingly, having not had cellulitis for months, I have developed it again so we didn't go out when at the caravan. We did come off the motorway at Droitwich for a change on the way to stop off at Tesco, Tenbury Wells, to buy a few items for meals. On the Wednesday the gas engineer finally turned up and carried out the gas boiler service and gas safety check.

The Herefordshire Oak in all its autumn glory.

The Octopus Tree now devoid of leaves but still covered with ivy. You can just about make out the Octopus shape - or at least I can :)

The Constable Tree - looking too as though it has lost most of its leaves.

D's rudbeckia plants are still flowering.

The acer in the garden is a beautiful colour this year.

Timothy back on his shelf - annoyed that I had forgotten his jumper!!

Looking towards the copse showing some of the autumn colours of treees around the site. The aspens have lost their golden yellow leaves since our last visit.

We saw buzzards and watched a red kite while we were there and there were plenty of birds on the feeders to keep us amused.  Although Merlin on B's phone picked up the call of a Redwing we didn't see any despite the hawthorns been laden with berries.

Before we left on the Saturday we closed down the caravan for the winter.  This year B has also tried to winterise (drain down procedure) it himself. Most of the work involved we already do at this time of the year when we leave. The new owners do not offer a drain down service which to be honest is a real pain.  The company they recommended using charged almost 3 times as much as the old owner used to. Also in the past the caravan has been winterised whenever we wished but the company recommended were by the sound of it only doing it on one more occasion.

I really didn't plan to close it down so early but I have no idea when we shall be able to visit again this year.  B has been having a lot of tests at various hospitals and the news from the results is not good.  He will definitely have to undergo chemotherapy and possibly radiotherapy as well. They are hoping they can also operate but that depends on the results of two more scans later this week. As you can imagine it is a very difficult and worrying time for us all.  It is not a subject I plan to talk about on here apart from on this one occasion.  So I hope you will understand why I have been blogging less frequently recently. That is likely to continue although I do hope we can have the occasional day out still to help us cope with it all.

All photos taken by me with the Panasonic Lumix FZ330 bridge camera. (I don't particularly rate my photos but if anyone wishes to use one of mine or my son's I would appreciate an email first - thanks).

A Visit to Berkswell and St John the Baptist

 

D and I don't seem to have been out much together recently so one sunny day last week we decided to go to Berkswell to have a look round the village and church and have lunch.  Berkswell is my favourite Warwickshire village.

We parked by the church of St John the Baptist and visited the church first.  

The church chancel, crypt and parts of the nave are Norman and were built in the C12th. Pevsner describes the church "as the most interesting Norman Parish Church in the county". The church is built of red sandstone and has an interesting corbel table.

The Gothic War Memorial was erected by Sir Charles Nicholson in 1921.

Wayside Preaching Cross - the stone steps predate the church and may be Saxon.

Some of the corbels.

This is the grave of Maud Watson who lived in the village with her father who was the vicar.  She was the first Wimbledon Ladies' Single Champion. Her sister played tennis at Wimbledon level too.

The two storey timber porch with external staircase dates back to 1500.

It is always good to see a sign like this saying the church is open!

C12th oak door with handmade nails.

I haven't been inside the church for quite a few years so I persuaded D to have a quick look round the interior.

The church interior has been restored several times. The first restoration was by Jethro Cossins c1881, the chancel was restored by W D Carve in 1909 and the crypt by Charles H Armstrong in 1928 with minor work by A H Gardner 1949-61. Some of the woodwork is by Robert "Mouseman" Thompson of Kilburn for example, the pulpit 1926, the chapel screen and altar rails in 1928 and the wooden font in 1946. There are several Thompson mice carvings in the church - I have never been able to find them all!

Looking towards the chancel from the nave.

This rare sanctus bell dates from C16th and could be earlier. It was usually set within a wooden frame attached to the inside of the rood screen.  In medieval times it was rung at holiest moment in the Eucharist just before the bread and wine were consecrated. After the Reformation the use of such bells was banned and, therefore, there are very few left in England.  The bell was found in the tower during recent restoration work.

The Berkswell Cello

This cello was played during services at Berkswell church and at social events in the C18 and C19th. It was used as part of the church choir along with other instruments.  The cello has remained in the ownership of the church and was conserved in 2017.

This stained glass emblem of St Cecilia was placed in memory of Celia Hooper 1951 - 1996.

The Lady Chapel

Wooden font by Robert Thompson complete with little carved mice. Sorry no photo of mice - it was too dark and I have no idea where the light switches were.  I do have a pen torch but of course forgot to use it!

Royal Arms 1791

Lollipop art by children of the local primary school.

Pulpit by Robert Thompson

Stained glass in the chancel - some is by Powell & Sons.

I did get one photo of a Thompson mouse carved on a chair.

Funerary Hatchment

We didn't go down to the crypt on this visit.

Back outside I went to have a look at the wall of the tower which has graffiti from the C20th but some is older.

We had a quick wander around some of the village.

This cottage used to contain a museum which has now sadly closed - I never did get to visit it.

Bercul's Well from which Berkswell gets its name.  There is some evidence of a pre-Conquest shrine at the village and this well near the church may have been used in connection with religion as an immersion site for early baptisms.  The well today is in a stone walled basin and is 4.9 metres squared. It was restored in 1851.

Well House where Maud Watson (see above) lived with her father. The house was then the rectory.

Village Stocks

The Nook is a new tearoom in the village closed at present for repairs.

We had lunch at the Bear Inn - a lovely C16th pub.  We both had a Great British Toastie with Blackstone vintage cheddar and Cricket St Thomas camembert served with chips, salad and red onion chutney. The service there was superb.

All photos taken by me with the Panasonic Lumix FX330 bridge camera.( I don't particularly rate my photos but if anyone wishes to use one of mine or my son's I would be grateful for an email first - thanks).

Reference: "The Buildings of England Warwickshire" by Chris Pickford and Nikolaus Pevsner, Yale University Press, 2011.