Wynmelvin » Sussex

October 4th, 2009

Russell — Tue, 06 Oct 2009 08:39:01 +0000

HIGH HALDEN — This morning I drove down to Battle to visit Battle Abbey and the site of the Battle of Hastings. I did the audio tour and took the long option which led you right around the battlefield. The site is not quite as it was in 1066 as the top of the hill was subsequently levelled to build the abbey and the field was terraced for the abbey’s use. There are probably a few more trees now as well—so you had to use your imagination a little.

When I’d finished looking around the battlefield and abbey I drove to Rye, a pretty medieval town and cinque port. I took the opportunity of climbing to the top of the church tower for a magnificent view over the town and countryside. The way to the top involved narrow passages, steep ladders and multiple ‘mind your head’ signs.
I also couldn’t resist stepping through the door of an old-fashioned lolly shop and succumbing to temptation.

In the evening I went back to St Nicholas’ Church in Pluckley and attended the evening service. Apart from taking the opportunity to see inside the church, the Maidstone Salvation Army Band and Songsters were providing the music.
Driving back to my lodgings was the first time driving at night this trip, this car. Took a while to find the light switch, and I’m glad I’d driven the road several times before during daylight hours—’twould be so easy to get lost at night if you’re unfamiliar with road.

October 1st, 2009

Russell — Fri, 02 Oct 2009 10:49:21 +0000

HIGH HALDEN — There’s not a lot of point leaving too early (unless you’ve got along way to go before your first stop) as most castles, abbeys, etc. open at 10:00 am. at the earliest. I left the Old Store Guest House at 9:30 am. and twenty minutes down the road I stopped at Arundel Castle, home to the Duke and Duchess of Norfolk.

As I still had a long way to go I felt that I couldn’t spend too much time here. The gardens and chapel opened at 10:00 am., the Keep at 11:00 am. and the Castle’s main rooms at noon. I took a chance that the gardens and chapel would be interesting for an hour or so so I could see the Keep.
They were! The walled garden was amazing. Well worth the entry fee on its own. Of special note was the grotto with the golden crown kept aloft on a jet of water.
This was one of the best castles I’ve seen and I wish I could have spent more time looking around. Even so I’ve taken more photographs at Arundel Castle than any other single location.

As I had spent more time than I had originally intended, I decided to give Bramber Castle a miss and headed for the Long Man of Wilmington—another hillside figure. This time I took the footpath up to the figure and the closer you got to it the easier it was to tell that the Long Man had been outlined with white ribbon or tape or plastic to make him easier to see.

As travel had been a lot quicker than expected I thought I’d visit Sissinghurst before arriving at High Halden. Unfortunately the house and gardens are closed on Thursdays so I’ll have to try and find time to make a return visit another day—so I ended up arriving at my accommodation rather earlier than expected.

September 30th, 2009

Russell — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 20:01:33 +0000

HALNAKER — As luck would have it there is another Roman villa not far from Chichester at Bignor, and that is where I went for my morning’s sightseeing. Again, there is not much left of the villa itself except for its unearthed mosaics. There are some interesting comparisons between Fishbourne and Bignor.

While Fishbourne was discovered in the 1960s, the villa at Bignor was discovered in 1811 and opened for public viewing not long after. While I have no doubt the buildings protecting the mosaics at Bignor have been renovated over the years, they are not as modern and brightly lit as the building that covers the Fishbourne mosaics. Some of the mosaics at Bignor have been uplifted and relaid level whereas others and those at Fishbourne have been left in the state they were found (i.e. with uneveness due to ground subsidence).
In the museum, the floor on which you walk is one of the Roman mosaics, the central motif of which was lost when debris from a collapsed roof punched a hole through the floor. A model of the villa stands on a large table above the missing portion and visitor’s walk on the room’s original mosaic border.

Guess who arrived shortly after I did? A bus-load of school children. This time I was able to sort of follow them as they were given a guided tour of the site. The guide mentioned then that some of the mosaics had been uplifted and relaid but that some had been taken to New Zealand. I wonder where those are now?

In the afternoon I visited Petworth House. It houses a wonderful collection of paintings and sculpture, including about 24 paintings by Turner (he used to have a studio in an upper room) and others by Reynolds, Van Dyke, Lely and others. The pride of the collection is a 2,500 year old head of Aphrodite by Praxiteles. Unfortunately no photography was allowed inside the house.
The grounds were designed by Capability Brown and the vista from the house looks almost the same as it did when depicted by Turner in one of his paintings.

September 29th, 2009

Russell — Tue, 29 Sep 2009 20:00:04 +0000

HALNAKER — Today I went to see something that’s been on my list of places to see for a long time: Fishbourne Palace. It is thought that this Roman palace began life as a supply depot for Claudius’ invasion of Britain before being enlarged to become probably the largest Roman palace in Britain. The museum showed how the palace was discovered, and how the it would have looked through the various stages of its development. There is not much of the palace visible—much has been reburied to preserve it—but the crown jewels of the site are the many mosaics that were unearthed and are now on display under cover.

Of course the museum experience wouldn’t be the real thing without hordes of school children and several noisy classes turned up on cue.

After leaving the Roman palace I went two miles further down the road to the village of Borsham—a pretty village with one of its claims to fame being that it was here that King Canute got his feet wet. The parish church is also depicted in the Bayeaux tapestry.

The rest of the afternoon was spent wandering about the centre of Chichester and visiting Chichester Cathedral. I reckon I’m now about half way through the cathedrals on this trip with just Canterbury, Norwich, and Lincoln to go. I think that Chichester has the best stained glass windows of the three so far, including one designed by Marc Chagall.

September 28th, 2009

Russell — Mon, 28 Sep 2009 20:00:04 +0000

HALNAKER — Today I visited the Weald and Downland Open Air Museum just north of Chichester. Normally I try and visit two places of interest a day—one in the morning and one in the afternoon—but because the distance between Winchester and Chichester is so short, there weren’t a lot of places that appealed. This open air museum was one that did.

The aim of the museum is to increase awareness of the South East England’s vernacular architecture by relocating such buildings to save them from destruction. The buildings have been arranged to represent a village and a farm. Often the buildings were rebuilt to display their methods of construction. One house was originally built in the 15th century and then remodelled to the fashion of the times two centuries later. When the house was put back after relocation, one half of one room was put back to the 15th century while the other half was allowed to remain in the 17th. It was fascinating to see the difference.

Being a Monday, it was inevitable that the bane of tourists visiting museums—classes of school children—would be visiting on a school trip. Admittedly the ones I came across today were very well behaved, but I tried to avoid them if possible.

I also visited the museums conservation and workshop area, and joined in on a tour of the building just as the group went and had a look at the museums reference collection of thousands of artfacts from down the centuries: farm implements, doors and door-handles, leadlight windows, etc. The aim being that if somebody wanted to know what sort of door hinges were used in the 16th century, they would hopefully find an example in the collection.