Walking. Gossip. Travel.

Category: Norfolk

  • Oxborough – Oxburgh Hall (Queen Mary and Sir Henry Bedingfield)

    Oxborough – Oxburgh Hall (Queen Mary and Sir Henry Bedingfield)

    I like an old document… And this is one where Queen Mary is referring to the appointment of Sir Henry Bedingfield to the role of the Lieutenantship of the Tower of London in October 1555. This would have been a tricky time to hold such a role, there was much political intrigue and willingness to overthrow the Monarch and it’s hard to see how the role wouldn’t have involved creating enemies and being in charge of methods of torture.

    One of Henry’s relatives, of the same name (1586-1657), found himself in a different role in the Tower of London in 1647, when he was arrested and imprisoned there. All turned out well for him in the end, he was released and ultimately his loyalty to the Crown saw him rewarded financially. Always good to back the right horse…..

  • Oxborough – Oxburgh Hall (Portrait of Queen Elizabeth)

    Oxborough – Oxburgh Hall (Portrait of Queen Elizabeth)

    The National Trust seem to have placed this seventeenth-century painting, of artist unknown, on display here to make the point that “the pressure to make yourself look beautiful without understanding the consequences is not just a twenty-first century issue”. They’re making reference to the makeup that Queen Elizabeth I (1533-1603) used to look pale, which was made of what transpired to be poisonous white lead which caused hair loss.

    I’m not entirely sure that the first thing I thought about when looking at this painting was the Monarch’s make-up, and perhaps the National Trust have fallen into the same trap of managing to say nothing about her achievements, but it is undeniable that Elizabeth’s appearance changed over the decades.

    When she was young it was said about her that:

    “Her figure and face are very handsome; she has such an air of dignified majesty that no-one could ever doubt that she is a queen”.

    However, by the time she was in her sixties, another correspondent noted:

    “Her face is oblong, fair but wrinkled; her eyes small, yet black and pleasant; her nose a little hooked; her teeth black (a fault the English seem to suffer from because of their great use of sugar); she wore false hair, and that red”.

    Ignoring the Monarch’s appearance, Queen Elizabeth I certainly knew how to control her court, and was able to maintain her position on the throne from 1558 until her death in 1603. She was able to maintain the Protestant faith, albeit making slight concessions to Catholicism, and her foreign policy was to a large part successful.

    But, back to the National Trust’s focus on appearance, it’s true that Elizabeth was concerned about this. It is reported that it could take four hours a day to dress and undress the Queen, which seems to be an unreasonably proportion of time. In addition to the white lead and vinegar skin-care, she also spent time coloring her lips with beeswax and plant dye.

    Elizabeth I also suffered from depression and significant health problems throughout her life, with one of her better-known quotes being:

    “I know I have the body of a weak and feeble woman, but I have the heart and stomach of a king, and of a king of England, too.”

  • Swanton Abbott – St. Michael’s Church (Interior)

    Swanton Abbott – St. Michael’s Church (Interior)

    Last time I visited St. Michael’s Church in Swanton Abbott it was closed, but fortunately on a sunny July Sunday afternoon, it had been partly opened.

    Only the chancel area was open to visitors and the nave was closed off, meaning that the church’s Priest Door was brought into use. I didn’t get the impression that the church had been inundated with visitors, but it was useful that it had been opened up and clear signage installed.

    The chancel end of the church, with this grand wooden arch-braced roof dating to 1953.

    The interior is bright and well proportioned, with the fifteenth-century font being visible at the back of this photo.

    The rood screen was mauled about between 1906 and 1913, with the position of the paintings changed and no-one is now quite sure what they were like before the rector had his DIY moment. There’s some beautiful visual imagery here though, it must have inspired at least some of the congregation when it was originally installed.

    As mentioned, we entered through the Priest’s Door in the chancel, although with good intentions. In 1851, Robert Fisk, James Dyball and George Green entered the church through that very same door, but not with the same good intentions. Numerous books on one pew were destroyed and the matter went to court, with initially a decision that the men weren’t guilty. Then something changed and Allen Hook (the son of the parish clerk) found himself charged with perjury and an appeal was accepted with the three men facing trial again. This time the magistrates in Aylsham sentenced the three men to six weeks in prison, with hard labour to add to the mix.

  • Walcott – All Saints Church

    Walcott – All Saints Church

    Located near to the Norfolk coast, Walcott Church stands rather adrift in the landscape, although it’s visible for some distance. The construction dates for the building are known with some precision, the nave was constructed in 1427, the tower in 1453 and the porch in 1467. It’s a sizeable building for the size of the settlement, an optimistic construction for what transpired to be the last wave of new churches before the Reformation.

    This is another church that was updated and modernised by Richard Phipson in the nineteenth century, although internally it did need some re-ordering.

    The listed building record doesn’t give a date to this door in the tower, but it appears (to my very untrained eye) older than the fifteenth century. Given that the font inside is thirteenth-century, perhaps this came from an earlier church on the same site.

    The ironwork on the porch door dates to the mid-nineteenth century and was made and installed by Fitt and Parke of Stalham. Unfortunately, the church was closed to the public during my visit.

  • Oxborough – Oxburgh Hall (Sir Henry Bedingfeld)

    Oxborough – Oxburgh Hall (Sir Henry Bedingfeld)

    This is Sir Henry Bedingfield (1509-1583) who was the eldest son of Edmund Bedingfield, who had been entrusted with the care of Katherine of Aragon. Henry was also trusted with positions in the Royal Court, providing protection for Mary I (also known as Mary Tudor, 1516-1558) and then also being entrusted with the care of Queen Elizabeth I. Henry was rewarded for this loyalty, being made the Constable of the Tower of London and he was given a large pension for his support towards Mary I.

    His reputation suffered during later years due to a smear campaign, but it’s likely that this was more fake news. Bedingfield was known as the ‘gaoler’, which was likely a tongue in cheek reference made by Queen Elizabeth to the role which he had at the Tower of London. Bedingfield found himself in a difficult position, as he was a Catholic now in the administration of a Protestant monarch. It was known what he was doing, he received fines for non-compliance and failure to attend church, whilst finding his property searched on numerous occasions.

  • Oxborough – Oxburgh Hall (A Boy, a Girl and a Page)

    Oxborough – Oxburgh Hall (A Boy, a Girl and a Page)

    The artist of this painting is unknown, and the entire thing is something of a mystery as it’s also not known who any of the people in the artwork are. All that is known is that it was painted in 1658, but the black servant on the right-hand side might not be contemporary to that.

    The National Trust explains that black servants were often painted, or over-painted, onto artworks to show that their masters (the word used by the National Trust) had global connections and substantial wealth. There’s no other evidence that the Bedingfield family ever had a black servant, so it’s likely that it is entirely symbolic. The addition of this figure also appears clumsily done, so it’s probably a later addition.

  • Swanton Abbott – Jolly Farmers

    Swanton Abbott – Jolly Farmers

    After my successfully led (that’s what I thought anyway) LDWA walk, we were on the look-out for a pub to visit, so we thought about coming back to the Jolly Farmers which we had walked by earlier on during the day. Initially, the omens looked a little unhopeful as Google had marked the pub as permanently closed. Usually, we’d have looked to try somewhere else, but Whatpub said it had re-opened on 4 July 2020 and they’re pretty reliable. As an aside, I’ve marked the pub as re-open on Google, so it no longer says permanently closed.

    This has been a pub since at least the 1830s and for most of its life, it was one of two licensed premises in the village, but the Weavers Arms closed in 2003. There has been an effort to buy the Jolly Farmers for the community in recent years, in an attempt to ensure that it remains open.

    The pub was very much open and had a handful of customers sitting outside. The bar was neatly roped off, with a friendly barman taking the orders. There were two real ales available, nothing particularly exciting, but all credit for having two well-kept ales in a village pub which were at the appropriate temperature (the beers were at the appropriate temperature, although the pub was too as it was pleasantly cool). It’s a perfectly acceptable selection given the circumstances, although the pub didn’t accept credit cards which makes it one of a dying breed.

    I had forgotten how spacious the pub actually was, with another dining room as well, but since I only remember visiting once before, that is perhaps not entirely surprising. All clean and tidy, and I’m sure it’s quite atmospheric on a cold winter’s night when it’s a little busier.

    This is not the most conveniently of placed doors, as you could walk out onto a car, but it’s clearly marked.

    I have no idea about the ear, but the hand-dryer appeared to be from about 1960.

    And a real effort has been made with the beer garden, which is spacious and well maintained.

    I like this pub, it’s one that could have easily been lost over the years and closure has perhaps been an option on a few occasions. It would be far too easy for this to become a residential property, and a decent one at that with plenty of space, but it’s a useful community asset for Swanton Abbott to have. Real ale, friendly service and a clean environment, all rather lovely. The pub probably needs to do much more with social media though, they nearly lost our trade if it hadn’t of been for Whatpub, I can’t imagine that they have sufficient trade to be able to ignore their on-line presence entirely.

  • Oxborough – Oxburgh Hall (Limited Re-opening)

    Oxborough – Oxburgh Hall (Limited Re-opening)

    Oxburgh Hall was in the first wave of National Trust houses to re-open after the enforced period of closure and the only one in Norfolk. It was essential to pre-book, and non-members needed to pay, in advance on the web-site although this was an easy process to navigate.

    Signage was suitably clear and there was an engaging staff member at the entrance to the property checking names and explaining what was happening.

    Gateways such as this were one-way only, with visitors routed around to ensure sufficient space.

    There was a one-way system through a few parts of the gardens where there was limited space, such as the herbaceous border. Visitors could also enter the house itself and I was warned there might be a queue for this, although it transpired that I was able to walk straight around with no wait.

    After crossing the bridge over the moat, visitors are met at the entrance to the house and another friendly guide explained where to go. It was all rather relaxed and I didn’t have to queue at any point, the National Trust hadn’t tried to cram too many people in.

    Visitors need to go through the courtyard, where there are also toilet facilities, and then enter the rooms at the far left. Only a few rooms were open, but there’s probably a limit to what they can do given the nature of the historic property that they have. More on these rooms, and indeed other elements about Oxburgh Hall, in other posts though.

    All told, this was very well-organised, although most things involving the National Trust usually are, albeit perhaps sometimes a little over-managed in some areas. Their one minor issue which was probably only temporary, they had run out of maps and they knew that they had more, but couldn’t work out who had them. But, they kept everyone safe and had managed to open up something, so that seemed a positive result to me.

  • Walcott – Walcott Beach

    Walcott – Walcott Beach

    Just photos in this post, from Walcott Beach this evening.

  • Shingham – Name Origin

    Shingham – Name Origin

    I diverted off my route a little to go and have a look at Shingham Church, but there’s little else in the village which seems to have depopulated over the centuries. The Concise Oxford Dictionary Of English Placenames still has something to say about it though, noting:

    Shingham, Norfolk. Scingham in Domesday Book, Sengham in 1207, Shengham in 1254. Means the ham of Scene’s people.

    ‘Ham’ in this content is a settlement or homestead, with records suggesting that this used to be a much more important village.