A tale of two churches
This year Gwyndaf and Janet John took us to The Lee for our Spring Walk.
We met at 10:00 at the Cock and Rabbit Inn by the village green and placed our orders for lunch.
There were about 26 walkers, with the welcome addition of 5 of our newest members joining us.
Gwyndaf explained that the recent history of The Lee has been associated with the Liberty family (of Regent Street fame) and that the original pub had been on the green itself, but was demolished and a new one built across the road, as the original pub had spoilt the view from Liberty’s manor house!
Janet had secured the help of a local guide and old friend – Trish Swain to help us as she was able to grant us access to the old church. Trish breeds hearing dogs, and brought a spaniel called Tammy along with her. We had a whip round for ‘Hearing Dogs for the Blind’ and were able to raise £118 for the cause.
First we visited the new church which was built in Victorian times (1867), to house the growing population of the village. Unusually for a Victorian church, it was built in the ‘Arts and Crafts’ style rather than gothic. The church bell was taken from the old church and is said to date from about 1290.
It was very light and airy inside. We were told that when the first world war was declared the local men were engaged in a cricket match and they all stopped playing and went to sign up. Many of them never returned. In 2014 a service was held to remember their bravery.
Trish then took us on a path leading behind the new church to a much smaller building. This dated back to about 1220, built by the Cistercian monks at Missenden Abbey on a site of an older wooden church. One of the first things that we noticed were the old sun dials on the exterior wall. These were Mass Clocks, for telling the time for mass.
Inside there were traces of the medieval wall Doom painting showing the weighing of souls and another depicting St
Christopher.
Above the entrance, was the coat of arms of the Plaistowe family, Lords of the Manor from the 17th century.
The stained glass windows are also of interest. At the very top is one of the original windows dating back to the 13th century and showing the crucifixion, and the 
figures of St Mary and St John. Below that, the main window depicts three puritans including John Hampden in the centre and Oliver Cromwell to his left. This window was originally meant to be for the church in Little Hampden, but was rejected as it contained the figure of Cromwell.
Gwyndaf then led us off on our walk through the countryside around The Lee. Outside the pub stands a curious stone structure which looked a bit like a modern art installation, but in fact is a natural feature called a puddingstone.
We then walked through the woods, which were carpeted with wild garlic and their aroma filled the air. Some of our walkers took the opportunity to gather leaves as they can make a very good pesto. Luckily, it had not been raining recently so the path was not very muddy.
Where there was more light in the woods, there were banks of beautiful bluebells.
Gwyndaf then took us through the village where we saw an old school, now used as private houses. This used to be known as the plaiting school, as the young girls there used to plait straw which was then transported to Luton to be made into straw hats! I’m not sure how much schooling the girls received.
As The Lee is quite high up, there are no streams and the village used to rely on a pond for its water. In 1897, in the year of Victoria’s Diamond Jubilee, a well was dug to provide clean water. This was quite a task, as the well is 365 feet deep, 4 foot six inches wide, and the workers had to rely on candles for their light and a blacksmith’s bellows to provide ventilation. It was commissioned by Sir Arthur Liberty and built by Liberty’s craftsmen.
The well has two enormous buckets, which were used to counter-balance each other. The well was still in use until the 1950’s.
From the well we continued through the village, with houses commissioned by Liberty for his workers, both labourers and management.
We went past the new manor house that Liberty had built – and in front of it stood a most incongruous figurehead from an old fashioned sailing ship. It is the figurehead of the ’Lord Howe’, one of the last wooden sailing battleships, purchased as salvage by Liberty for the timbers which were used in the construction of the Liberty store.
We were running late, so we made a hasty retreat back to the Cock and Rabbit in time for lunch where the food was very good.
Rob Britton stood and proposed a vote of thanks to Gwyndaf, Janet and Trish.
Thanks to all three (and Tammy) for a lovely walk.
Martin Sheen was wonderful as Nye, appearing in all the scenes dressed in his hospital pyjamas and seemingly bewildered as each scene unfolded before him in random order, as a schoolboy with a stutter, then his fights with Winston Churchill, his open marriage relationship with Jennie Lee and the death of his father (a Welsh miner). Finally he remembers his creation of the National Health Service against very high odds, only winning against the doctor’s opposition by promising them to make them the highest paid professionals in the country (“Filling their mouths with gold”).
The staging was quite clever, the green curtains reminding one of those in a hospital and also acting as the green seats of the House of Commons, whilst hospital beds were transformed into lobby entrances during the parliamentary scenes.
We found our coach at 5:15 and our driver fought his way through the rush hour traffic to get us back to Gerrards Cross by about 6:30 – well behind those who had travelled by train!
All 50 guests were greeted with a glass of bubbly or soft drink – as appropriate. The lounge provided an excellent space to catch up with old friends and indeed some guests from the principality – Whitland to be precise. I was delighted to meet with the brother of one of my classmates at Narberth Grammar School. Our mutual aquaintances were numerous; a joyful start to the evening.
As usual Gerrards Cross Club did us proud with a very good 3 course meal; the leek and potato soup was so good I thought my mum must have had a hand in it. There were also many compliments directed at the sewin ( sea trout) – main course as well as the suitable lamb dish. The staff looked after us well and added to the friendly ambience of the evening.
Chairman Gwyndaf John opened proceedings and handed over to Kate Picton to give an update on Jonathan Pegler’s progress in hospital. We all wished him a speedy recovery
Colin’s quiz had a definite Welsh theme with rounds on…… Welsh Celebs, Welsh Geography and Welsh History.
The final scores were:
This year Ann Evans hosted the event at her house, The Tuft, in Chesham Bois. This was the original location for Christmas Drinks in the earlier years, until the Society became too large.
many of our favourite carols.
It was a very joyful occasion, and our thanks go to Ann for hosting the event again, Ann Tennant for the lovely canapes and to Kay for organising the event.
Going through from Turl street through the porter’s lodge we entered the Front Quadrangle, the oldest parts of the college are here and date back to the 16th century.
Bishop Morgan’s translation of the bible into Welsh (around 1588). The oldest book dates from 1467, a version of De vita Christiana by Saint Augustine, but many of the oldest books are now held in the Bodleian Library. The library contains benches at which the books can be read – they are called ’15 minute’ benches as the design has intentionally made them so uncomfortable that scholars could only bear them for 15 minutes at a time.
rooms, student accommodation and a ‘digital hub’. The view from the top of the building is wonderful, and we stopped for a group picture.
We all met up at Christ Church Cathedral for 3pm, where we were met by our guides Anne and Steve Handsley. Christ Church is unique in that it is the college chapel and also the cathedral for the city of Oxford, and as such one of the smallest cathedrals in England. This means that the Dean of the church is also the head of the college.
Before the college was built, it was the site of the church of St Frideswide’s Priory. In 1532, Cardinal Wolsey chose the church for his proposed new college – Cardinal College, but Wolsey soon fell out of favour with the king, Henry VIII for failing to secure him a divorce, and eventually the project was taken over by Henry in1532, renaming it Christ Church (Ecclesia Christi Cathedralis Oxoniensis).
Christ Church is famous for its stained glass windows, including the Becket Window from the 14th century, the Jonah Window by Abraham Van Linge in the 17th Century, the St Michael Window by Clayton and Bell in the 19th century, and the famous pre-Raphaelite Frideswide Window by Edward Burne-Jones, also from the 19th century.
Ladies nearest the pin: Jane Morris
Salmon with Beurre Blanc Sauce & veg followed by lemon tart with mixed berry compote and whipped cream
