Autumn Footsteps through Village England

Medieval glass fragments in Ewelme church (St John's chapel)

It was an almost Indian summer day for which one gives thanks at this time of the year. After weeks of rain, the sun came out - on and off - the wind dropped, the temperature was mild. I had seen a church that looked particularly interesting on a recent TV programme, and decided that 'living in the moment' was appropriate for this particular Saturday afternoon, so off we went to seek Alice de la Pole, the grand-daughter of the poet Geoffrey Chaucer.

There are certain places that just make the heart beat a little faster -  the village of Ewelme in Oxfordshire is just such a place. It is the sort of place which one imagines now only exists in tourist brochures enticing unsuspecting visitors to enjoy the delights of 'Olde Engelonde' - only to arrive and find a certain fast food outlet on one corner and stalls of tourist tat on all the others. Not so here. This is still the real thing - a peaceful portion of this oh so green and pleasant land - and on Saturday last it was both very green and very, very pleasant.

It was all of a piece - a place where everything goes together, everything harmonises - the church (rebuilt in the 1430's) and the adjoining almshouses as the focus, certainly, but each part of the rest of the village also seemed to be good mannered enough to take care of itself, not disturb anyone and just put its best foot forward. There were no 'experiences' or 'heritage centres' set up - the whole place was an experience of heritage - but one which had grown over many centuries, not manufactured for the delectation of outsiders. And it felt that  if we were as quiet and good mannered as the village, we were welcome to step into it and enjoy it as well. If you would like to share that experience which so entranced me then, come walk again around the village of Ewelme with me, allowing me to enjoy it once again in your good company :-). (As always, clicking on the image will give a larger copy to view).

Ewelme church with almshouses built alongside, on a descending slope.

The focus of my visit - the gilded tomb of Alice de la Pole, Duchess of Suffolk, and the grand-daughter of Geoffrey Chaucer, buried here around 1476.

Angels in feathery armour, supporting the pillow upon which Alice's head is laid. Alice herself wears a ducal crown.

Alice's tomb, situated next to the altar. Click on the image to see more clearly the frieze of angels supporting the heraldic shields of Alice's ancestry...and notice also the pierced arcade below them.

Much more difficult to see, (one needs to get down on hands and knees to get a good view, and almost impossible to photograph) another representation of Alice appears below the tomb top monument which shows her in her magnificence. Beneath is an image of Alice, lying upon her open shroud, as a cadaver...a decomposing corpse - a 'memento mori', reminding us of the state to which we will all return. (I suspected she was rare...my expert friend, Rohan, tells me that this is now the only female cadaver monument extant in England).

Elements of such a representation are unpleasant, but there is also a modicum of compassion in the way that the body was sensitively carved, after obviously close observation of the real thing. Alice is no longer  unapproachable - here, she is aged Everywoman, with withered breasts, modestly covering herself. It was tempting to want to reach out, smooth her hair, and quietly close her gaping mouth. I was strangely reminded of images of the dying Pope John Paul II - who, I feel, in allowing  his decline from Papal magnificence to a state of common humanity to be seen, was able to help me, at least, to contemplate and engage with feelings of compassion for those who are no longer 'winners' in the race of life, but are still and always totally worthy of being loved simply because of their humanity.

Another reminder of mortality, particularly in the way it constanly cast its shadow over the lives of women, is visible in this brass memorial to Catherine Palmer, who, we are told, left behind her six sons and one daughter, before dying, at the age of only 34 years old 'in childbed'.

Not all is doom and gloom, however. here is a cheeky Green Man I espied, hiding in the corner of a doorway and below, a gargoyle on the passageway to the Almshouses, doing its job of channeling water from the roof into the lead piping below, but with more than a little expression of bemusement on its face at the task in hand!

These steps to the Almshouses give away - by how much they are worn away - the age of the establishment and how many feet must have processed up and down them, from the almshouse cloister into the adjoining church and back again, over the period of centuries since they were founded.

We took the route from the church down the steps to the cloister - the charm of what greeted me at the bottom of the steps literally made me gasp. An enclosed courtyard, around which ran a cloister walk-way, leading to 13 almshouses, each with their own little door.

The Almshouses

The central courtyard was paved so very simply with red brick and greay pebbles set on edge...and upon those, pots and tubs overflowing with plants, mostly silver-leaved, with pale pink and deeper blue flowers, and alongside, acid green evergreen shrubs which gave a permanent structure to the planting. It looked stunning, but thinking about it just for a few moment, it became obvious how very achievable the effect was for anyone who wanted to try it in the smallest space.

Carved bargeboards

The effect depended on the contrast of red brick and grey pebble, and also the limited plant palette of sharp green, silver and blue. it would work on a tiny patio or a vast walled garden - I have somewhat done more or less the same in the herb garden and herb wheel here at Autumn Cottage - but here at Ewelme, the effect was delicious. (The weathered old wood only added to the charm).

Leaving the almshouse cloister, we discovered the third component of this most interesting grouip of buildings. Founded in 1437 'for the education of any child', what is claimed to be the oldest school building in continuous use sits even further down the slope - in the photograph below it is on the left hand side. Stepping through the gate and looking back, the building must seem daunting when encountered by a five year old on their first day at school, but its imposing character does certainly enhance the school's motto of 'dare to be learned' - and I bet it is nothing like as formidable on the inside as its extrerior leads one to believe :-).

Passing the village pond en route to the village shop (also serving teas) was the perfect end to a perfect, peaceful afternoon. The only tea-table was taken, so our next steps were towards Wallingford, panini and the Aldworth Giants...but that, as you would expect, is really another story.

You can discover much, much more about the church and village by reading this interesting History of Ewelme

More medieval glass in the church

Comments

[Margaret Lambert]

I could exclaim over every detail, but will try to restrain myself. It's nearly too good to be true. And people are actually permitted to live there... Now I understand that you didn't meet a present day multiple- great granddaughter of Chaucer- oh well, that did intrigue me. It's a joy that places like Ewelme still exist.

[Steve Fleischer]

What a lovely place.

[hazel coombes]

Oh such a lovely walk I had with you Roz, so peaceful the gardens so pretty and so much detail from your photos. The stained glass is beautiful.

Thank you for sharing a delightful day you must have had.

Hazel (UK)

[Darla]

Just knowing places like this still exist makes me happy. Thank you so much for posting the pictures and providing the history.

I found the 'memento mori' very interesting, perhaps because I'm currently working on a little collage for Día de los Muertos (celebrated in Mexico and here in the US).

Darla

[Camille]

What a lovely little village! This cloister is too beautiful for words. Thank you for sharing this with us, it made me travel to dear England a little bit, and it was also very interesting :)

Camille

[Joan]

Alright, that's it. I've decided that if and when I decide to travel to England, I'm going to ask you to create my travel itinerary! I just loved the pics and the stories

[LindaB]

Thanks for the "armchair/computer chair" tour - it was a mini-vacation and source of much delight for my soul. Your pictures and texts are so descriptive that I felt that I could even hear the quietness of the cloister and smell the flowers! You have quite the gift!!

[Enid Wilson]

Wow, thanks for the great photos and commentary. I wish I was that observant when I lived in UK some 20 years ago. Being in my twenties then, I didn't have such an eye for detail and appreciation as you have. Now that I'm writing Regency romance, I really love reading blog posts like this. I can imagine the hero and heroine rambling along.

Really Angelic

[Gracie]

Such a lovely walk, thank you so very much for taking me with you in the amazing english countryside..........

[Britt-Arnhild]

A lovely day for you Roz. I would've loved to come with you :-)