Edith Holden's Centenary Celebration Day in Olton

Two of my favourite books are 2 nature diaries written in 1905 and 1906 by Edith Holden which were published in facsimile format following their re-discovery in the 1970's.

And this is a superb biography on Edith

2020 marks the 100th anniversary of the death of artist and amateur naturalist Edith Holden and today several events are being held in Olton, where she lived for a while, to commemorate her.


Daffodils in the car park.

The first event at 11.30 on the Warwick Road was the opening of a micro garden with Victorian style public benches restored by Olton Residents Association. The Association together with a Solihull Neighbourhood co-ordinator have reclaimed a patch of overgrown land, tended it and created a small garden.

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The second event at 11.45 was held at St Margaret's Church, Olton. It was the unveiling of a stone birdbath by the Lord Mayor and the Vicar of the Church. The birdbath commemorates Edith and has been located in a small and peaceful garden. The stone bath has been at several locations in the past (I am sure it was once at Baddesley Clinton) before being put in storage at Packwood House.

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The full inscription reads along the lines of (sorry didn't get the exact order of the words! " To celebrate the life and times of Edith B Holden illustrator, naturalist and animal lover 1871 - 1920"



Edith lived in Kineton Green Road and

the third event at 12.00 noon was the unveiling by the Lord Mayor of Solihull of an owl carved out of an old tree stump by wood carver Robot Cossey. The owl is located just a few hundred yards from Gowan Bank where she lived.

Gowan Bank

Other events today, which we did not attend included the opening of an exhibition on Edwardian life with Edith Holden memorabilia at Olton Library; the annoucement of prizes for a children's painting competition and a concert in the evening featuring the premiere of "The Country Diary in song".

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Quite a few years ago I wrote a series of posts called "Following in the Footsteps of an Edwardian Lady" where I visited some of the places in Warwickshire mentioned in Edith's diaries. If you would like to read these please click on "The Country Diary of an Edwardian Lady" under labels. You may have to go back a bit by clicking on older posts at the foot of the page as some of the more recent labels only mention Edith in passing although they do cover areas she visited.



*D Photos taken by my son with the Canon Bridge SX50 bridge camera
Rest of photos taken by me with the Panasonic Lumix FZ330 bridge camera

In Search of Primroses and "A Frog he Would a Wooing Go"

Most years just before Easter I visit a local churchyard to see the display of wild primroses. My usual destination is St Giles, Packwood, where, if you time it right, there is a stunning display with a carpet of primroses covering the churchyard. Unfortunately, I had forgotten Easter was early this year and discovered that, although a few clumps were already flowering, it was too early for the main display.

Behind the fence is Packwood Hall which is next to the church. The hall, now privately owned, dates back to the 17th century and has a moat. Edith Holden of The Country Diary of an Edwardian Lady fame visited there on 24th February, 1906, and picked a bunch of snowdrops from the church and was shown a lamb by the farmer at the hall.

St Giles

St Giles dates back to the 13th century and is dedicated to St Giles, the Patron Saint for beggars and the lame, and today the church is always left unlocked allowing it to be used as a place of refuge for those in need.

Sara Ford from nearby Packwood married Michael Johnson at this church in 1706. Their son Samuel was to become a famous literary figure and dictionary author.

A lovely feature of this churchyard is that, although the area near recent graves is kept tidy, the area where the older graves are located is left to its own devices and nature has taken over with ferns, brambles, ivy etc. scrambling over the ancient tombs and gravestones. It is a real haven for wildlife and over 100 species of wild flower have been recorded here.

A few clumps of snowdrops, now past their best, remain and Lesser Celandines are starting to flower - sprinkled over the grass like golden stars.

Celandines also known as Pilewort have been used to make an ointment to treat haemorrhoids. Local names for this harbinger of Spring include Golden Guineas, , brighteye, butter and cheese, cream and butter and starflower. In the Language of Flowers this plant stands for "joys to come" referring to its appearance so soon after Winter. It was William Wordsworth's favourite flower and he asked for it to be engraved on his tombstone. Unfortunately the stonemason carved a Greater not Lesser Celandine!



I couldn't see any violets yet and just a few clumps of primroses were starting to flower.

In folklore Primroses are a symbol of youth and it is thought they are lucky in love and marriage

A memorial to Graham Baron Ash and his parents who once owned Packwood House before the latter passed it on to the National Trust.

This gravestone has some interesting carvings. Cut flowers can symbolise a life cut down in its prime and a hand with a pointing finger can imply divine presence. I'm not sure what the ears of wheat signify.

This tombstone always fascinates me- it makes you wonder if you leant on it or pushed it would it give way and open and entrance to the Burdett vault!

And this is the vault behind.

A blocked up priest's door

A few more old tombstones and graves.

Sundial on the Tower

This a mass or scratch dial. Centuries ago a stick was inserted in the hole to act as a primitive sundial or clock so that the time of masses could be calculated.

The Tower of Atonement

Nicholas Brome from nearby Baddesley Clinton who committed two murders - his father's killer in 1471 and, as mentioned in the past, the priest of Baddesley Church in 1483 when he found him in the parlour "chocking his wife under ye chinne". His atonements for evil deeds included arranging for the construction of the tower at St Giles.



On the way home I drove past Packwood House to see if the roadside daffodils were yet flowering. Again, I was too early - some are out but many of the plants still contain buds.

If I get chance I will return.




Garden Frogs

Garden frogs spawned last week starting on the 13th March although we are a little worried about the effects of below freezing temperatures at the weekend.