We had a good turn out for the Spring Walk this year – 20 of us in all, and it was a good thing that we set off in the morning, as it poured with rain all afternoon.
We all met at 10am at The Potter’s Arms in Winchcombe Hill, a lovely pub selling real ale and with a good choice of lunchtime food. We spent some time selecting and ordering our food for lunch before setting off across the Common, down a footpath to a small pond called Gawde Water beside Horsemoor Lane.
We crossed the road and went along the footpath across Warren Field from where it was just possible to see Penn House, the home of Earl Howe, who is patron of the Chiltern Society while his wife, Countess Howe is patron of the Amersham Festival of Music. Here, under the trees we found a large clump of bluebells (though nowhere as impressive as those in Church Woods in Hedgerley).
Gwyndaf and Janet John had selected an easy and a more difficult route and at this point those who wanted to avoid a steep slope (and to 5get to the pub earlier) took the quicker route with Janet. The rest of us followed Gwyndaf down a slope through trees where in days gone by bodgers used to work, and then joined an old wagon track leading back up the hill on the other side of Penn House, through woodlands known as Charcoal Grove.
On the way Gwyndaf found several plants of interest, including the Coralroot, a tall pink flower which is quite rare (in most places)96, but one of the few places you can find it is in the Chilterns.
We then proceeded around the back of the ground of Penn House, an area known as Little Readings, looking into the grounds to see a gardener hard at work.
Further on, we re-crossed5 Horsemoor Lane, past a farm and some woodworking buildings, across a field with views across to Penn Street and its church, then turned right into a path edging Priestlands Wood, back towards the common and The Potter’s Arms. On the way we were told of the hundreds of different types of dandelions, and were informed about sedges – all being asked to recite ‘Sedges have Edges’.
We returned to the pub right on time to enjoy our food and some real ales and before the rain started after lunch.
Thank you to Gwyndaf and Janet for planning and leading the walk.
We had our delayed London Walk on Wednesday 26th October. It was originally scheduled for September, but was postponed as so many people were unwell.
We met our guide, Caroline James outside St Paul’s Cathedral at 11am. I’m afraid that our numbers were down – there were only 5 of us in total, but luckily the weather held mostly fine – a drizzle threatened a couple of times, but never came to anything.
Caroline was a fantastic guide with incredible knowledge of the Welsh population in the late 18th century, when the early Welsh Societies were first formed. She showed us the sites of the first meeting places (mostly in pubs and coffee houses).
The Honourable Society of Cymmrodorion was founded in 1751 by the two Morris brothers from Anglesey, to promote the language, literature and arts of Wales. This was a bit too high minded and serious for some, who, led by Owen Jones (Owain Myfyr), formed the Gwyneddigion Society in 1771. Many Welshmen were members of both societies and meetings were held on different evenings so not to clash with each other.
We were taken on a walk through some of the older parts of the City of London, down tiny little alleys and narrow roads with names like Old Fish Street Hill, Bread Street, Seething Lane and Crutched Friars. As we went Caroline pointed out where the pubs and coffee houses stood or still stand, with stories about the Welsh people that were involved in them.
We passed the London Mithraeum with its remains of a Roman temple and briefly entered St Stephen Walbrook, a church designed by Christopher Wren with a beautiful circular ceiling. It is also the place where the Samaritans was founded. We were very lucky in that when we entered the choir was practicing and the overall effect was enchanting.
Walbrook was also the site of the Bull’s Head Tavern, where the Gwyneddigion Society used to meet, the source of the following rhyme:
In Walbrook stands a famous Inn
Near ancient Watling Street
Well stored with brandy, beer and gin,
Where Cambrians nightly meet.
Another of the pubs that used to be used by the societies was the George and Vulture, which still exists and was later used by the Pickwick Club and now houses Dickensian memorabilia.
Iolo Morganwg was one of the main founders of the Gwyneddigion Society, but he was also a member of the Cymmrodorion and he organised an assembly of bards on Primrose Hill in 1792. We also heard about prominent Welsh leaders who campaigned against slavery, and saw a recent art installation commemorating the abolition of slavery.
In the late 19th and early 20th centuries many of the prime movers behind the creation of the University College of Wales, the National Library of Wales and the National Museum of Wales were London Welsh. The National Eisteddfod was twice held in Westminster, at the Albert Hall in 1887 and in 1909.
We were wandering in Pepy’s territory now, with St Olave’s Church, where he worshipped and was buried opposite the Navy Office where he used to work. (Richard Morris, one of the main founders of the Cymmrodorion Society, worked as a clerk in the Navy Office in Seething Lane’)
We ended our tour at a pub called’ The Hung Drawn and Quartered’ which is not that old, but was named after a quote from Pepys (see photo).
We enjoyed mini pies and mash, but had to follow in the old Societies’ habits with glasses of beer and wine!
Thanks to Caroline for an exceptionally enjoyable walk.
Chiltern District Welsh Society Spring Walk 28th April 2022
What an enjoyable and interesting day. The last time most of us saw each other we were in our fineries, now we were in our walking gear!
It was clear from the beginning that Gwyndaf and Janet had put a lot of effort into making a success of the day from Janet taking everyone’s order for the sandwiches for lunch, to Gwyndaf explaining the background to the Red Lion pub at Coleshill where we met.
The group included our Life President Ann Evans, current Chairman Colin Picton, two past chairmen, seven past committee and two new members. What a thriving society we are. Someone remarked that we were the strongest society around!
Our route was to take us south along Coleshill Common and the pond across the Chiltern Way, across white chalk paths of cereal fields, past Luckings Farm, down to Great Beard’s Wood and Owlsears Wood before looping back past Ongar Hill Farm and the old Windmill on the right.
In those couple of miles and hours Gwyndaf highlighted approximately 30 flowering species of plants (flowers and trees) with captivating explanations.
Coralroot
We saw plants only found in or near ponds, in ancient woodlands, in shaded areas (bluebells), in sunny areas, on chalk soil, or in cultivated meadows. One plant, Coralroot is confined to this area of the UK – so that was a very special find. That these plants and flowers are in these areas is conditioned by various factors including the soil and environment. The soil layer on the Chilterns is rather thin before one encounters chalk hence the chalk loving plants that we found.
Pendulus Sedge
The route and time were chosen for the best locations for us to see specific flowers. Those in flower included trees and sedges. Sedges are grass-like plants, and as we learned “sedges have edges”. They have stems with triangular cross-sections. Gwyndaf explained the pollinating method highlighting the male and female parts of the sedge plants.
We learned that some species have male and female plants. One of these is Dog’s Mercury which we saw in abundance in the wood.
Janet with Wavy Bittercress
We saw edible and poisonous plants, plants used in medicine, sweet smelling plants and ones that were unpleasant. We learned a little of the derivation of some of the rather fanciful names. In short – lots to entertain. Our sightings included Barren Strawberry, Bugle (used for bruises), Lesser Celandine (opening and shutting to light), Common Dog Violet, Coralroot (propagating via red bulbils), Cow Parsley (edible leaves when young), Cuckoo Flower, Cuckoo Pint (otherwise known as Lords and Ladies), Dog’s Mercury, Garlic Mustard (young leaves can be eaten in salads), Greater Stitchwort (cures stiches in your side), Green Alkanet,
Gwyndaf with Green Alkanet
Ground Ivy (used to flavour beer), Herb Robert (named after Pope Robert the founder of the Cistercians), Summer Snowflake, Sweet Woodruff, Wavy Bittercress (sixy-sexy-flexy), White Deadnettle, Yellow Archangel as well as various Oaks, Hornbeam, Willow, Beech, and Hedgerows. You can tell our wild flower education was extensive!
The welcome victuals and drinks back at the Red Lion rounded off a very enjoyable easy sunny walk in the Chilterns. There was no end to the chatting!
Very much looking forward to next year’s – Diolch o galon Janet a Gwyndaf!!!
On Thursday 29th April Gwyndaf and Janet John organized a Spring Walk around the woods at Hedgerley.
Due to the fact that we hadn’t been able to meet in person for so long, there was a great deal of interest and 24 people signed up for the walk. The Johns organized us into 4 groups of 6 so that we could be properly socially distanced, and recruited Colin Thomas and David Powell to lead the other two groups.
The plan was to meet at the pond in Hedgerley at 10:30, book our meals at the pub and then set off covering very similar walks but at different times and in different directions. However, when parking the cars, people were so pleased to see each other again, that in true CDWS fashion, they stopped to chat and soon it was 11:00.
Nevertheless, we were able to give our orders at the pub and set off, aided by handouts from Janet showing us the difference between Spanish and English bluebells and pictures of other wild flowers to look for on the walk.
Both Gwyndaf’s and Janet’s groups had the advantage of expert wild flower knowledge, but the two other groups were supplied with pictures of plants to look out for – a bit like the old I-Spy books we had as children. The early purple orchids were not out yet, but the cowslips made a great display in the Glebe Meadow by the church.
Three of the groups went for a slightly longer walk covering the trip to Hedgerley Green as well, but David’s group just covered the woods and then headed straight back for the pub.
The food was good and so was the beer, and the bluebells were almost at their best (a cold dry spring had delayed them a bit).
Thanks to Gwyndaf, Janet, Colin and Di Thomas and David for leading the groups.
There are some more photographs on the 2021 Gallery page.
Slimbridge is situated north of Bristol, very close to the Severn estuary, and is home to many different types of birdlife. It was founded in 1946, by Sir Peter Scott.
Our coach arrived at Slimbridge at 11:15, giving us time to meet the others of the party who had arrived by car, to have a coffee or have an initial look around the reserve.
We split into two parties of twelve for the guided tour of the Scott’s house. The volunteers told us about Peter Scott’s earlier life, as a hunter and painter, his wartime career, as an Olympic sailing medallist, but he is best known for his passion for preserving wild life, founding the Wildfowl & Wetlands Trust, and especially for creating the World Wildlife Fund.
Scott’s whole house borders a man-made lake, where Berwick Swans and many kinds of other waterfowl were only a few yards from the windows. I looked down, and there was a snipe only four or five feet away.
We were shown the Scott’s kitchen, looking very much of the 1950’s, with its range and an old-fashioned Belling 2 ring cooker. There were hand-written notes inside the cupboards and in notebooks and it looked as though the family could return at any moment.
The Scott’s kitchen
We saw the dining room with its one long table, but were told that the Scotts usually ate on the small formica table in the bay window, where they could watch the birds.
We were also shown the study, where Lady Phillipa Scott had most of her effects and paintings.
Perhaps the most interesting room was familiar to any of us who had seen Peter Scott’s programmes on the television, with its painting easel, the wide panoramic view across the lake, and the extraordinary window which was built out in front of the house and extends about 8 feet in each direction, allowing an additional 6 of 7 people to enjoy the view, but not be in the room!
The tour took about 1 hour, and, as we were heading back to the main visitor centre, the guides asked us what we thought – as we were the first visitors to the house since the renovation! We have Peter Day (as chairman of the WWT) to thank for that privilege.
After the tour some of us went off to hear a talk about the re-introduction of the European Crane into the country (a couple of them could be seen skulking about on the other side of the pond) and then on to watch the otters being fed and playing in the water. These were North American otters rather than European, as European otters are nocturnal.
European Cranes
Other members of the party were more adventurous and walked across the flat site to one of the hides, where knowledgeable WWT volunteers pointed out interesting sites across the panorama. These included cranes beyond the sea wall, godwits, curlew, knot, dunlin, linnet with it’s distinctive “puppet on a string” flight pattern, an array of ducks and a fantastic fly past by a skein of geese at eye height and within metres away.
The coach left Slimbridge at 3:30 and we had a swift and pleasant journey back. Jonathan Pegler thanked Peter Day and David Powell for arranging such a successful trip.
We had an early start at 8am in Gerrards Cross, picking up the rest of our party at Amersham. After a brief stop on the M42 we drove on through the countryside and to Presteigne to visit the Real Wine Company for a wine tasting and paella. The company was established by Mark Hughes, who used to live in Gerrards Cross, but followed his dream to create his own specialist wine company. We sampled up to 12 delicious wines, and many of us ordered a few.
After lunch we drove north along swollen Severn. The previous weeks had rained pretty continuously and river levels were high. As we passed we saw that many of the fields were flooded.
Phil, our coach driver, drove us on to Montgomery, where we had 10 minutes to stretch our legs and to explore the market square and the Norman church with the tomb of Sir Richard Herbert (dating from the 16th century).
There followed a somewhat sleepy trip on to Oswestry as the effects of lunchtime’s wine made themselves known. We drove to Oswestry’s Premier Inn through stunning countryside, avoiding floods which had been prevalent only a few days before. That evening, some ate locally while others walked to Oswestry to sample the local restaurants.
Tuesday 18th June
The coach picked us up from the hotel, and we drove to Llanfair Caerinion station, where Jonathan had booked two carriages on the Welshpool and Llanfair Light Railway. The railway dates from 1903 and has an unusual 2’ 6” narrow gauge. We had time to look around the station and watch the engine (‘Countess’, one of the original engines) being prepared. The first part of our journey followed the path of the valley of a small river (the Afon Banwy neu Einion), where, Jonathan said, otters and king fishers lived. It took about 45 mins to cover the 8.5 miles to Welshpool. We crossed streams and small roads, with or without level crossing gates, admiring the countryside as we chugged along. When we arrived in Welshpool we had another chance to admire the train getting ready for the return journey. (More railway pictures.)
Our coach had driven on to meet us and we all climbed on to travel to Powis Castle. On the way there, Jonathan, acting as the most knowledgeable tour guide, gave us an extraordinary level of detail of the history of the castle, built in the 13th century by the Welsh prince (Gruffydd ap Gwenwynwyn), loyal to Edward I. By 1587 the castle was sold to the Herbert family. In 1784, heiress Lady Henrietta Herbert married Edward Clive, son of the famous Clive of India. Their son inherited the castle, on condition that he changed his name to Herbert. The castle remained with the Herbert family until it was passed to the National Trust.
A really impressive structure, the castle was built of local red sandstone, with wonderful views over the surrounding countryside. It was easy to see that the building was not only a castle but also a home. We entered smart drawing rooms, elegant dining rooms and formal bedrooms, all decorated with paintings of family members through the ages from the 17th century to the present day. A separate room was set aside to display some of the riches brought back from India by Clive, including Indian weapons and fine jewel encrusted figures.
The castle has beautiful gardens set within steep slopes and terraces revealing wonderful flower beds.
In the courtyard of the castle was a male peacock displaying and protecting his mate with one chick, the last remaining of clutch of 5. (Additional photos of Powis Castle in the gallery.)
That evening, after the bus had dropped us off, Jonathan took us on a conducted tour of Oswestry including the remains of the castle which was torn down during the English Civil War. In the memorial gardens we saw a statue to one of Oswestry’s famous sons,the poet Wilfred Owen, who was tragically killed in the last week of World War 1.
The whole party then met for an evening meal in the Wynnstay Hotel, making our own way home after discussions in the hotel bar. (More pictures of our evening here.)
Wednesday 19th June
We set off early to visit ‘Jones the Boats’ on the Llangollen Canal, where we all boarded a canal boat to take us across the famous Pontcysyllte Aqueduct – the highest aqueduct in the world.
The bridge was built in 1805 by Thomas Telford, and stretches for 336 yards above the River Dee.
It was a strange experience to be in a boat on the canal and to be able to look down over 120 feet to see the river and fields below with the drop just inches away from the side of the boat.
Looking down from the boat on to the Dee
5 Ann(e)s on a boat
We traveled on until we passed through the Chirk tunnel, 460 yards long, turning around just before the Chirk Aqueduct. The tunnel is narrow, with only room for one boat at a time, and boats must show lights so that they can be seen by those coming from the other direction.
After the canal trip, we once again boarded the coach to visit Chirk Castle. The castle was originally constructed in the late 13th century by Roger Mortimer de Chirk under the orders of Edward I, in order to guard the Dee and Ceriog valleys. It was expanded and remodeled over the years and was bought by Sir Thomas Myddelton in1595.
The interior of the castle was varied in style. It was interesting to see the different tastes in different rooms and to see areas where the Victorian designer Pugin had made changes to restyle the Georgian features into what was then considered to be a more authentic new Gothic.
The gardens at Chirk are extensive, with clipped yews, herbaceous borders, a ha-ha and views over the Ceiriog valley. As we left Jonathan had two more sights for us.
The original gates included the Myddelton crest featuring a sinister looking red hand. There are several stories about the significance of the hand, most of them somewhat gory. The coach then took us back via the Llangollen canal, where we could walk down to the tunnel we had been through that morning, and then walk across the Chirk Aqueduct, crossing from Wales to England. This is another Telford bridge, this time crossing the Ceiriog valley, 710 feet long and 70 feet above the valley, this aqueduct runs alongside a later viaduct carrying the railway.
We set off to Brymbo Heritage site, which is really two sites in one. Brymbo is close to Wrexham, and is the site of an old iron works dating from about 1790. We split into two parties and were shown around the site where we were given a brief history of the development of the industry as well as being shown the original furnace and the old ruins of an even older coal mine.
Interestingly, Brymbo had another aspect. Recently, when the coal was being extracted by open cast methods, they found an ancient petrified forest beneath the coal. This originally grew as gigantic ferns and mosses over 300 million years ago, when this part of Wales lay on the equator! While walking over the site, we met some of the paleontologists working on the site. As we were talking to the leader, Dr Tim Astrop, another of his party picked up a stone lying on the ground and showed us a fossilised plant stem from 300 million years ago, saying that we were the first people ever to see this fossil specimen!
We were then driven over to Erddig Hall, another National Trust site. It was built in the late 17th century for Josiah Edisbury, but in 1733 it passed into the Yorke family. We were met by one of the guides who entertained with stories of the Yorke family (mostly Stephens and Phillips) who threw very little away, which was why the site had such a vast collection of artifacts. One of the last of the line became almost a hermit who removed the phones and the electricity. He used to sleep at night guarding the silver with a shotgun and a burglar alarm fashioned from carnation milk tins.
The Hall is also famous for its paintings, poems and stories of the servants who worked there. From the early days, portraits were made of some of the serving staff, maids, gardeners, gamekeepers and housekeepers and together with these there were descriptions or poems, often in a child’s hand, to describe the individuals.
The gardens at Erddig are extensive, based on the original 18th century formal garden. They contain a lake and a canal in addition to rose gardens, fruit trees, walled gardens and herbaceous borders.
We said goodbye to those of us who travelled by car and set off on the first leg of our journey, to Shrewsbury. We were met by our guides, who took us on a conducted walk around the town, looking at taverns and houses with connections to the Tudors, then a led us on a tour around St Mary’s, Shrewsbury’s oldest church, dating back to Norman times, to see the stained-glass windows. We completed the tour by looking at the medieval trades areas, after which the streets were named, and at the centre of the high street, where David III, Prince of Wales, was executed in 1283.
After lunch we boarded the coach and David Powell thanked Jonathan Pegler for all the planning and the incredible amount of information he had provided us with about the places we passed through and visited.
We finally arrived back home at around 4pm all feeling quite tired.
This year Gwyndaf added a visit to a local church to our Spring Walk.
We all met at the Red Lion pub in Little Missenden at 10:00 to order our lunches for later. Then 22 walkers set off on a 3 mile walk in the hills around the village.
We started off following the River Misbourne and in the first field we passed we saw a curious collection of animals – pot-bellied Vietnamese pigs, funny looking sheep that turned out to be goats and a magnificent turkey displaying for his harem of females.
In the next field we discovered an archaeological party surveying the field. They explained that they had detected signs of very old buildings (possibly Roman) close to the river and were tracing out the shape of the building with a view to a future dig.
We then followed the South Bucks Way footpath up the hill with wild flowers on either side. Janet John pointed out some of the flowers, and when we reached the top of the hill, she introduced us to the flowers and explained their common names.
From here we were able to admire the views across the Misbourne Valley.
The weather continued to be fine and we didn’t need our coats, as we turned back towards the village pub, chatting and getting to know other members of the society. We arrived back at the Red Lion just before 12:00 after walking about 3 miles. There we were met by others who had come for the church tour, and there were over 30 of us when we sat down to lunch.
The food proved to be very good, with a wide choice from sandwiches to belly pork and sea bass. We also had time to sample the beer and watch the carp in a pond in the back garden.
About 2pm we walked the hundred yards or so to the village church, The Church of St John the Baptist, where we were met by the vicar, the Reverend John Simpson.
We were treated to a guided tour of the church and told that the original church dates back to Saxon times (about 975 AD). It was then added to by the Normans and by successive villagers over the centuries. The original Saxon church is very visible and you can see where the exterior walls and windows were.
The highlight of the visit was to see the medieval paintings on the church walls. There are a number of pictures on various walls, but the main ones on the north wall of the church show St Christopher and cartoons of St Catherine showing scenes from her life. The paintings have been declared ‘of national importance’ by the Courtaulds Institute and have recently been restored after receiving a grant from the heritage fund. During the restoration even more fragments of paintings were found on other walls around the church, dating from the 13th century and through to the reigns of Elizabethan and William and Mary.
The vicar made an excellent and enthusiastic tour guide, pointing out so many features of this old church that might otherwise have been missed. Our tour lasted about 1 hour and we were very impressed to see such artwork on our doorstep. You can find out more about the church and its paintings here:www.lmchurch.org
Many thanks to Gwyndaf and Janet John for organising such a fun and educational day.
Tuesday May 15th – Our Spring Walk & Pub Lunch took place on a gloriously sunny day. How could it have been otherwise!
The members gathered outside the Swan in Ley Hill. This attractive old pub faces the open land of Ley Hill Common and was originally three cottages dating from the 16th Century.
Sam, the bubbly landlady, unlocked the pub and came out to meet us – so some much needed relief was had before we set off!
Thirteen members went off on the walk with another five joining us later for the lunch.
Passing the little village Memorial Hall the footpath led to Tyler’s Hill. This woodland is full of large deep holes from which clay was excavated for the local brick and tile making industry. We wound our way past and through these dips and on through open fields with distant views across the Chess valley, then followed a long, wide, but fortunately shady, path along a typical Chilterns “bottom”. Finally we strolled up through open parkland and woods to reach the far end of the Common.
Ley Hill Common is the home of a golf course, and here Ralph Broomby was delighted to re-make his acquaintance with a par three hole of particular difficulty with the green located in a valley well below the tees. After admiring this tricky golf hole we strolled back across the springy turf of the common to the pub.
During the walk we learnt how to distinguish the scented native bluebell from the oft-planted Spanish species, smelt and tasted the leaves of Garlic Mustard, and discovered the extraordinary reproductive strategy of the Cuckoo Pint (also known as Lords & Ladies).
Inside the Swan still has the wooden beams, inglenook fireplace and the old original stove. Fortunately padded cushioning has been fitted to the old beams though I still managed to bump my head on one beam. After a rest with drinks in the cool garden we went in for our meal. Tables had been thoughtfully arranged in a U shape for us. Very conveniently the landlady had taken main course orders previously and had set up a tab for the various couples and singles present. The meals were excellent and quite a few found the desserts irresistible. The Swan delivered good food and excellent service.
All in all it was a relaxed day out. We learned about bricks and how they are laid as well as some natural history. And we enjoyed the good weather in some lovely Chiltern countryside.
Gwyndaf John
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On the way Gwyndaf found several plants of interest, including the Coralroot, a tall pink flower which is quite rare (in most places)96, but one of the few places you can find it is in the Chilterns.
5 Horsemoor Lane, past a farm and some woodworking buildings, across a field with views across to Penn Street and its church, then turned right into a path edging Priestlands Wood, back towards the common and The Potter’s Arms. On the way we were told of the hundreds of different types of dandelions, and were informed about sedges – all being asked to recite ‘Sedges have Edges’.
On Thursday 29th April Gwyndaf and Janet John organized a Spring Walk around the woods at Hedgerley.
The plan was to meet at the pond in Hedgerley at 10:30, book our meals at the pub and then set off covering very similar walks but at different times and in different directions. However, when parking the cars, people were so pleased to see each other again, that in true CDWS fashion, they stopped to chat and soon it was 11:00.
We said goodbye to those of us who travelled by car and set off on the first leg of our journey, to Shrewsbury. We were met by our guides, who took us on a conducted walk around the town, looking at taverns and houses with connections to the Tudors, then a led us on a tour around St Mary’s, Shrewsbury’s oldest church, dating back to Norman times, to see the stained-glass windows.
We completed the tour by looking at the medieval trades areas, after which the streets were named, and at the centre of the high street, where David III, Prince of Wales, was executed in 1283.
We then followed the South Bucks Way footpath up the hill with wild flowers on either side. Janet John pointed out some of the flowers, and when we reached the top of the hill, she introduced us to the flowers and explained their common names.
chatting and getting to know other members of the society. We arrived back at the Red Lion just before 12:00 after walking about 3 miles. There we were met by others who had come for the church tour, and there were over 30 of us when we sat down to lunch.
yards or so to the village church, The Church of St John the Baptist, where we were met by the vicar, the Reverend John Simpson.
The highlight of the visit was to see the medieval paintings on the church walls. There are a number of pictures on various walls, but the main ones on the north wall of the church show St Christopher and cartoons of St Catherine showing scenes from her life. The paintings have been declared ‘of national importance’ by the Courtaulds Institute and have recently been restored after receiving a grant from the heritage fund. During the restoration even more fragments of paintings were found on other walls around the church, dating from the 13th century and through to the reigns of Elizabethan and William and Mary.
Tuesday May 15th – Our Spring Walk & Pub Lunch took place on a gloriously sunny day. How could it have been otherwise!