Charlecote Park Part 2: St Leonard's Church (and Caterpillars are Emerging!!)

The present church of St Leonard's at Charlecote is located on the site of a much smaller 12th century church which was demolished in 1849.

The church was planned and paid for by Mrs Mary Elizabeth Lucy from Charlecote Park who was mentioned in yesterday's post. She planned the church to perpetuate the memory of her beloved husband George who died in 1845 aged 56.

It was good to see that parts of the churchyard had been left to "grow wild" and conservation zones have been established.

Beautifully carved font

The church contained some beautiful stained glass windows - yet again there are several photos when I failed to hold the camera level!!!

This circular window was given by Mary's daughter Caroline, and shows the head of Christ in the centre surrounded by the Apostles and scrolls of the Creed.

The Lucy Chapel contains the 17th century tombs of 3 successive Sir Thomas Lucys which were once in the original church.

This alabaster tomb was erected by the first Sir Thomas Lucy in memory of his wife Joyce who died in 1595. The tomb was later enlarged to take his own effigy - kneeling figures of a son and daughter are seen on the front panel. This Sir Thomas it is believed may have been caricatured as Justice Shallow in William Shakespeare's "Merry Wives of Windsor". However, this Sir Thomas was well respected so it is possible that Shakespeare was thinking of the unpopular second Thomas Lucy who was living at the time Shakespeare wrote the play.

This tomb is that of Sir Thomas the Third who died in 1640 and his wife Alice. The tomb is made of black and white Carrara marble. This Sir Thomas was a man of learning and loved to study the classical works. He was also a famous horseman and died as a result of "excessive zeal in this field".

The third tomb is a monument made from alabaster marble oolite for the second Thomas Lucy who was knighted by Queen Elizabeth I. He died in 1605. His second wife Constance who erected the tomb is shown in effigy in a prayer posture and wearing mourning clothes. Fourteen of their children (6 sons and 8 daughters) in Tudor dress are found on the front panel.

Emperor Moth Caterpillars

Caterpillars have started emerging today from the eggs I was given last Friday. There were 3 at lunchtime

but there are now ten!!!

The Blue Tit chicks are fine (today I counted 8) and I haven't seen the Great Spotted Woodpecker round the nestbox at all today which hopefully is good news.

Charlecote Park - Part 1 and some Exciting Moth Eggs

I went on a mission to South Warwickshire last Friday to collect some rather special eggs from a fellow moth-er (more of the eggs later). I wasn't far from Charlecote Park so stopped off to have a look round the grounds, gardens and church.

Charlecote Estate has been in the hands of the Lucy family since at least the thirteenth century. Sir Thomas Lucy began building the house in 1551 and it was completed in 1558.

Edward Hurst's early eighteenth century statues of a shepherd and shepherdess

This tree with the lovely blossom is Cercis Siliquastrum.

There have been deer in the parkland since Turdor times. It is said William Shakespeare was caught poaching deer here in around 1583. The parkland at Charlecote was designed by Capability Brown.

150 year old Mulberry Tree

The Woodland Garden

A great playhouse for children :)

Time for lunch in the Orangery and who could resist a piece of this Chocolate Fudge Cake?

Wisteria was flowering around the house and the entrance to the Orangery which also had a delightful

display of flower-filled pots.

Parterre

The River Avon runs just to the rear of the property and in the distance you might just be able to make out Hampton Lucy Church.

The Cascade where the River Dene joins the Avon.

Ivy-leafed Toadflax creeping along a wall.

I didn't go in the House on Friday but did visit some of the Out-houses - this is the Laundry Room

Three charming little pigs are being raised - they were running about like playful puppies

I would like to say that the blurred pigs in this image is intended to demonstrate motion but the truth is the pigs rarely stood still and the photo is the result of an exceedingly low shutter speed in the poor light!

Its lovely to see Hawthorn (or May) flowering everywhere and I saw my first House Martins and Swifts of the year whilst at Charlecote.

Before we left I also visited St Leonard's Church but I've already uploaded a lot of photos so I'll do a separate post on the church.

Treated myself to a (rather expensive!!) jar of honey and some flour from Charlecote Mill for breadmaking.

I bought this book many years ago and if you have visited Charlecote or plan to do so its well worth a read.

Mary Elizabeth Williams was an heiress from North Wales and she married George Lucy and became Mistress of Charlecote in 1823 when she was only 20. She wrote these delightful memoirs for her grandchildren when she was 80. The book details her life at Charlecote, the London Seasaon and a tour abroad and her meetings with Queen Victoria and Sir Walter Scott providing a wonderful portrait of life in nineteenth century society. Everywhere you go at Charlecote - the house, the gardens and the church - you can see her influence.

I couldn't resist buying this plant from the nurseries before I left- am hoping it will attract more moths to the garden.

And now to return to my reason for being in South Warwickshire. I had gone to collect some Emperor Moth eggs. I collected them from someone who has been rearing them for years. The idea is to raise the caterpillars which will become pupae in late summer. In a year's time hopefully some rather fantastic Emperor moths will emerge and you can try assembling the females to see if they attract any male moths which may the in the area. At this point in time I am a little concerned as the eggs were due to hatch this weekend but so far not one caterpillar has emerged!

Blue Tit Update

The final Blue Tit chick total is 7 from the original 11 eggs. They are growing well and the parents are bringing in plenty of food. However, this afternoon I noticed one of the Great Spotted Woodpeckers at the nestbox entrance hole. It can't enlarge the entrance as it has a protective metal plate but this won't stop this species trying to gain entrance elsewhere in the box. We've replaced the chicken wire round the nestbox - this has gaps large enough for the adult Blue Tits to access the nestbox but too small for the GSW to get through. This has worked in the past and the parents are happily flying through the gaps to feed the young. Previously the young have fledged successfully flying through the gaps but I'll keep an eye on it and when they are due to fledge we may remove the wire.