History – Gone in a instant.

Posted on August 5, 2017 by Mick's Muses

IMGP0820A recent event in a neighbouring village suddenly thrust to the front of my mind a though I have had in the back of my head for sometime. In the historic village of Ilchester in Somerset, the Market Cross which has stood since 1795, was destroyed in seconds by an allegedly drunken driver. Hopefully it can be restored but only time will tell.

The incident however does illustrate how fragile and transient in nature historical objects are. Once they are gone, they are gone forever and can never be replaced. As much as mankind may seek to protect ancient artefacts and buildings, it is a war that is gradually being lost in the passage of time as catastrophes like fire, earthquakes, accidents, natural weathering or even wanton destruction by extremist groups with warped ideologies as happened at Palmyra in Syria, gradually take their toll on ancient structures.

IMGP4042I suppose in some ways, the knowledge of historical events is far more enduring than physical objects, but again that is reliant in those who are interested in preserving that knowledge. As time passes, events that were of great importance to the people who lived through them, can become increasingly less important in the perception of future generations. Events that happened say two thousand or more years ago with Mediterranean rulers and  armies establishing Empires through conquest and the like are still of interest today, but are not of the same importance to the current generation as those who lived through and experienced those times.

One cannot help but wonder if the human race survives for say another 100,000 years, what importance or interest, if any, our current world events will be to that very remote future generation? In one hundred millenniums time, in such a future generations perception of the past, they would probably consider us to be much closer to the ancient Romans than we do ourselves. Our current world is still heavily influenced by the events of the two Great Wars, but to far distant generations, they might not be more than interesting points to note, like grains of sand on the beach, in the great tide of history that has yet to be created between now and 100 millenniums in the future.

It it also quite probable that just as the great empires of the past have vanished, the great nations of today will also have vanished or changed into something unrecognisably different. Human aspirations and needs are always something of a constant great melting-pot of change, and political thoughts and divisions have always been a great driving force for internal change within countries. As the saying goes, ‘Nothing is forever’.

I cannot help but speculate that if time travel were possible, (and I do not believe it is), and those distant future generations could be visited to be asked what they thought about the UK’s struggles in leaving the E.C. or Russia and the USA being at constant loggerheads with each other, the ego-deflating response would likely be one of, “Who”.

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June 2012

Posted on May 31, 2012 by Mick's Muses

Olympic Torch in Ilchester, SomersetLast week I went to see the Olympic Flame pass through my neighbouring village of Ilchester. The long build up to this event felt like an anti-climax as the flame passed by taking only a few seconds as it continued on its journey wending through the length and breath of Britain. I found it unfortunate that the cavalcade of vehicles accompanying the torch bearers obscured approaching views of the torch until the last moment. It was a pity that apart from one person from Yeovil, none of the torch bearers were local people.

I am certainly not opposed to the Olympic Games but I have been and still am dubious at the games being held in the UK at the present time, possibly because the hosting area of Newham is so well known to me. In a sense the reshaping of the area covered by the Olympic Park leaves me with a sense of fond childhood and adolescent memories being physically expunged. I recognise there is a counter argument that the Olympics also brings regeneration to an area but to me this is often followed by a form of re-gentrification which normally entails more wealthier people displacing the less affluent.

Apart from friends who live in Newham, I also have many friends living close to Weymouth, which is a venue for the sailing arm of the Olympics. Be it my friends in London or in south Dorset, many of them feel their feathers have been ruffled by Olympic preparations.

Weymouth is a prosperous holiday town with the holiday trade making a significant contribution to the local economy. This year some hoteliers abandoned their normal bread and butter holiday trade hopeful of attracting lucrative corporate bookings for the Olympic sailing events, much of which has so far failed to materialise. It remains to be seen how much of the holiday trade is deterred from going to Weymouth this year but the much increased parking charges and other possible street restrictions are unlikely to prove an incentive. If Weymouth does lose much of this important trade, it may well prove difficult to get it back again.

St Michaels and All Angels, Hughenden Vally, BuckinghamshireI recently went to the marriage of the son of one of my close friends. I have known the groom since he was a baby and now he has just turned 30 years of age and the joint owner of a growing and successful web company. How the years seemed to have flown by. The marriage was held at the brides family church known as St Michaels and All Angels, the local parish church of Hughenden just north of High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire.  This attractive church set in the Hughenden Valley owned by the National Trust was originally built in the year 1135. This is an area previously unknown to myself but one which I found quite pleasant. The wedding breakfast was held at a nearbySt Michaels and All Angels, Hughenden Vally, Buckinghamshire Elizabethan country house known as Hampden House which itself has a long history with one wing dating back to the 14th century. The Hampden family after which the property is named are recorded as owning the land from before the Norman conquest. I always find it fascinating whenever the opportunity arises to look at the local history of places I have visited. Britain is certainly rich is such historical treasures and knowledge.

Matthew & Vikki

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Ilchester

Posted on August 31, 2011 by Mick's Muses

As we go about our daily lives, hurrying and scurrying, hither and thither, it is often the case that we rarely pause to reflect on surroundings we pass, or even give the location a second thought or glance. Ilchester in Somerset is one such place close to my home where most people are passing through but rarely going to.

Despite this frequently unnoticed environment, Ilchester has a long and sometimes nefarious history stretching back to Roman times and before. There does not appear to be any real definition that determines when a large village is considered to be a town or vice versa. I suspect definitions of a town have changed over time and what once was considered a large settlement in the past, would nowadays be considered small. Ilchester was once called a town, at one time, it was even the county town of Somerset before that honour moved to Taunton.

SDC10742

Ilchester Oppidum

 Recent archaeological excavations at Ilchester’s sports field uncovered a late Stone-Age Oppidum, (a Tribal Meeting Area), in the form of a circular mound creating an enclosure. This symbolic mound was constructed of earth/clay over a base of stone. One half of the Oppidum was constructed of white Lias stone and the remainder of Ham stone.

With the Roman occupation of Britain, they established a large settlement at Ilchester about 60AD which they named Lendiniae later referred to in the seventh century as Lindinis. The settlement sat astride and protected the Fosse Way, a major route across England that linked the Roman towns of Exeter (Isca Dumnoniorum) with Lincoln (Lindum Colonia). A fork in the road at Ilchester went directly to another Roman settlement at Maiden Castle near Dorchester in Dorset. The Romans eventually made Dorchester (Durnovaria) their main settlement and many Roman relics are still found in the area today. These roads are known today as the A37 and A303.

The Romans undertook extensive engineering works to the River Yeo that flows through Ilchester to allow navigation from the sea at Burnham. Roads were also paved, drainage installed and large villas with mosaic floors and central heating were built. One of the countries largest Roman cemeteries is also located in Ilchester. Even to this day there is a requirement for much of the land covered by the old Roman settlement, for archaeologists and historians to inspect sites prior to building works.

After the withdrawal of its legions and the demise of the Roman Empire, this country entered the period known as the Dark Ages between 400AD – 900AD. This period of our history is so named as little is known about it. The Dark Ages were a period where little documentation was used or survived and much of our evidence from this time period comes from archaeological excavations. The same is true of Ilchester’s history during this time.

The Dark Ages gave way to the Middle Ages with constant Viking raids. The Vikings also established their own settlements not too far away in Dorset. King Alfred (the Great), ruled at this time and he utilised towns like Ilchester which still had surviving fortified Roman walls in his campaigns to rid the large area of England known as Wessex of the Viking invaders. The old Roman walls were so strong, that Ilchester was one of the few places able to withstand a later historical siege from William the Conqueror.

Roger Bacon the philosopher and scientist is believed to have been born here about circa 1210. As a county town, Ilchester at one time had its own mint and the county gaol. Ilchester Gaol was infamous for its ill-treatment of prisoners and public executions. It was also part of the judicial circuit of the infamous Judge Jeffreys otherwise known as ‘The Hanging Judge’. In the aftermath of the Monmouth Rebellion where West Country rebels tried to overthrow King James II, court hearings were held headed by Judge Jeffreys that became known as the Bloody Assizes. This draconian judiciary toured the West of England dispensing terminal justice to many captured rebels. Twelve of them were publicly executed at Ilchester Gaol.

Illustrations exist of regular public executions held at Ilchester Gaol which depict a gallows consisting of a long wooden beam supported by upright posts and set above the entrance ramparts of the prison. This gallows allowed as many unfortunate prisoners as was necessary to be hanged at the same time in full view of the crowds below. Apparently large crowds used to gather in Ilchester on ‘hanging days’ for their entertainment. Given at the time people could be hanged for the most petty of crimes including sheep stealing, it was quite likely that many such days occurred. Hence the saying that one might as well be hanged for a sheep rather than just a lamb. Little heed was paid by the judiciary of the individuals social conditions or whether their families were starving.

The site of Ilchester Gaol moved to different locations several times. On one occasion the prison fell down due to disrepair allowing all the prisoners to escape.  The prison eventually closed in 1843. Thankfully, it was never rebuilt.

At one time due to historical reasons Ilchester boasted two members of Parliament which was highly unusual given its small size. With some of the parliamentary candidates being local landowners, it is said they engaged in scurrilous practices of either building or demolishing properties to ensure that local residents either would vote for them or were no longer eligible to do so if their properties no longer existed.

At one time Ilchester also hosted a nunnery and a monastery, the latter being closed by Henry VIII when he dissolved the monasteries in both a land and monetary grab.

Many holiday makers in the past on their way to the West Country via the A303 will have driven through Ilchester. Perhaps driven is the wrong description, crawled would be a more apt word. Before the Ilchester by-pass was built, both the A37 and A303 shared the same short stretch of road through Ilchester before parting again and going in their respective directions.

The two junctions where these primary roads met and divided were the cause of horrendous tailbacks of traffic for many miles during the peak holiday season. I suspect most motorists would be trying to keep both their tempers and car engines cool as they slowly progressed with their carload of exuberant children through the narrow streets. Too frustratingly otherwise engaged to appreciate some of the finer esoteric points of the historical village they were passing through.

With so much history packed into Ilchester, readers who have never been there could be forgiven for believing it is a place is of large dimensions. However Ilchester remains a small village by modern-day standards, barely more than one-third of a mile square.

If you ever have the opportunity to drive through or visit Ilchester, perhaps you will to allow your mind a little time to dwell  on the rich historical past of this small village. Ilchester is in no way unique, most of the UK is equally rich in local history. Why not visit your local museum to find out just what historical treasures lay at your front door?

Relevant links: http://www.ilchesterparishcouncil.gov.uk/Core/IlchesterPC/Pages/Default.aspx

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February 2011

Posted on February 4, 2011 by Mick's Muses

February is not my favourite of months during the year, however snow drops are in full bloom and daffodils shoots are growing furiously heralding an ever nearing Spring. Lighter evenings are now becoming more noticeable creating a general feel the sap will soon be rising even in myself. Even as I write the outside temperature gauge which sends a signal to my indoor weather station is showing 53° farenheit (11.7° C) which is remarkably mind for this winter month. This is something of a welcome respite after the recent savage weather conditions that the county has experienced. Those who use the centigrade scale must forgive me for still using Farenheit, it is however what I grew up with and to myself, I find Centigrade temperatures do not convey any real purposeful meaning when visualising external weather conditions. I am certain there are many more old-codgers like me who do the same.

Little is going on in the garden at the moment but I must soon start annual hedge trimming before new greenery starts to appear and birds start building nests in the hedges.

South Somerset where I live is mainly comprised of small villages. Even the local District Council logo is made up of a depiction of rural villages. One of the benefits of this scattered residential habitat is most villages have at least one or two public houses within their small communities. Over recent years this has give rise to many fine small restaurant developments as part of a public house, many of them are reliant on this business for their main trade. Unlike many large cities, my small part of the world now has the choice of numerous restaurants all serving well prepared meals at a very reasonable cost and with personalised attention. Given the rural nature of this area, driving to a public house/restaurant is still a necessity but again, most serve non-alcoholic beers allowing for an equally enjoyable time to all concerned.

 6th February 2011

Our bi-monthy community news letter recently arrived through my letter box, I would think that many of the villages in Somerset have something similar. My newsletter covers the villages of Ilchester, Limington, Northover, Podimore and Yeovilton which are naturally bound together by geography. I recall when I first arrived in Somerset to be pleasantly surprised the first time the newsletter arrived. London where I previously lived although a large a city, is still never-the-less comprised of groupings of many communities that merge into each other. In the 45 years I lived in London, I never once saw a community newsletter in any of the districts where I lived. It is hardly surprising that outside of adjoining neighbours in London, many people are complete strangers to each other.

I find our local newsletter very informative with details of forthcoming local events, local council decisions and issues with planning applications and outcomes. There are usually a number of well written articles, some covering local events and history while others are much broader based in both content and location. The local CoE also devotes time to broadcast local church news without sounding like a sermon. Advertisements for the butcher, baker and candlestick maker as well as many other sundry local undertakings abound throughout the news-sheet. I find the advertisements very useful in not only subsidising the cost of the free newsletter, but also useful for a first point of contact should one require an external service. Somerset I have found is an area if one needs advice about a subject ranging from building work to good restaurants, one only has to ask a friend or neighbour for an entire chain of helpful knowledge and contacts to be forthcoming.

National crime maps is a subject recently in the news, These can be found at  http://www.police.uk/. These maps give a breakdown of actual or reported crime both by an area and a street by street basis. I could not get through the link on the first day of operation as apparently the computer crashed due to overwhelming demand nationally for information. Now that things have settled down a bit, I was pleased to see my own village showed a zero in every category of crime. Out of curiosity I looked at my previous London location to find the streets around the previous district where I lived littered with markers indicating burglaries, street crime and other types of offences. I wonder if these new crime maps will have an impact on houses prices in districts that show high levels of crime?

Prior to the online availability of these new crime maps, another Government/Police based crime map was available. I however found this map most unhelpful and meaningless. The previous map showed the entire county of Somerset to be “average” in crime. Bristol was the only location showing above average. To me this posed the question of what “average” crime meant? Did average mean two garden sheds broken into over a period of a few years or, did average mean several murders a day on the same street? I suspect on that on that national crime map a broad-brush of statistics were applied that left a pointless outcome. I did ask about the meaning of average crime on this map at a meeting of local Neighbourhood Watch representatives with the Police. Unfortunately as they were not the composers of this particular national crime map, although they understood the points raised, they could not answer the question.

 

11th February 2011

Yesterday, the leaders of the three main political parties visited the West Country with two coming to Yeovil. The pleasant small market town that comprises Yeovil only takes ten minutes or less to drive through and is where I do most my shopping. Historically, Yeovil was the glove making centre of the UK producing up to 95% of all gloves made. Like many industries, times change and glove making is now all but past history. Augusta Westland in now the major employer that dominates the town and is always a magnet for visiting politicians and notables. It was also the same location which became known as the Westland Affair in the 1980’s which led to the then Defence Secretary Michael Hesletine walking out a cabinet meeting and announcing his resignation.

The West Country is traditionally Liberal Party country but the recent debacle over increased university student fees has more than ruffled a few feathers. Apparently Nick Clegg the leader of the Liberal Party found the visit a little uncomfortable as people voiced their thoughts. I wonder how much forward thinking consideration was given to the effects of breaking an unbreakable pledge so soon after coming into power in a coalition government.

At the turn of the 20th century, there was effectively  only two political parties capable to forming a government, The Conservative and Liberal parties then known as the Whigs and Liberals. With the formation of the Labour Party, voters who traditionally vote Liberal moved their voting allegiances in droves to the new Labour Party effectively leaving the Liberals in the national government wilderness ever since. Due to the electorates intense dislike of the Labour Party, recent election results left the Liberals in the position of King Maker who threw their hat into the ring with the Conservatives. After only a few short months in shared government, the firmest of election pledges was broken for which I suspect they will pay a high price at the next election. Excuses for broken promises may be fine for politicians but not the electorate. Most politicians weasel their way out of political promises with feckless excuses. European, Union and Referendum are words that spring to minds in recent times. But to break such a firm pledge is such a short time means that any other undertaking that may be given will be viewed with immediate distrusting scepticism by the voting public. It’s like making a rod for your back for life.

I am not certainly not knocking any particular political party as personally I do not think any of them are fit for purpose at the moment. It will probably take a few more politicians to fall on their swords before one credible party rises like the Phoenix from the flames.

As for the visiting politicians, they left as rapidly as they came following their whirlwind visits, leaving the people that really run the country to get on with their lives.

 

 

24th February 2011

 The connection between Somerset and the Middle East may seem somewhat remote but the recent troubles sweeping through that region arouse not too distant memories. In 2006 similar troubles arose in Lebanon which involved the rapid evacuation of British nationals from that country. The response of the Government of the day was swift. Naval ships including aircraft carriers, (we still had both in service at that time), moved into that area of the Mediterranean Sea. I also recall watching from my garden, a flight of Sea King helicopters from the Royal Naval airbase at Yeovilton which adjoins my property, leave in formation on a 24 hours flight to Cyprus. At that time the Sea King helicopters were about 25 years old but have proved to be an immensely reliable workhorse. The flight involved a number of refueling stops in various Nato countries but despite the long distance, the Sea Kings managed the flight with ease. The following day the helicopters were involved in ferrying stranded British nationals from the troubled shores of Lebanon.

Now only five short years on and again we have need to evacuate British nationals but this time from Libya currently being torn apart by internal strife. What is the Government response this time? It is a very weak, swift on words but short of action response as one might expect from a government constantly trying to appease its coalition partner. Other European governments took immediate steps to evacuate their nationals while our government was still trying to charter aircraft. Five years ago troubles abroad were foreseen and an aircraft carrier was moved into the area in advance to assist in evacuation. Now we have reduced aircraft carriers with no aircraft and a reduced naval fleet. We still do have large transporter aircraft which could be used in an emergency although the government is closing some of their bases. However, being stranded at Tripoli Airport as upheaval and bullets tear the city apart does not appear to be deemed a sufficient enough emergency to use the transporter aircraft.

I do hope this Government never have to deal with a real national crisis, but I do foresee if the Alternative Voting system (AV) is accepted in a forthcoming referendum, we can constantly expect similar indecisive action from a string of coalition governments that will be inevitably be elected as a result.

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