This talk, with its
intriguing title, turned out to be a brilliantly illustrated and fascinating
presentation describing aspects of the "Dark Ages". Pat
said "Dark Ages" was a description academics disliked; however
the period roughly between 370 and 980 AD is often so called. The
years following the collapse of the Roman Empire was a time of disruption
and migration across Europe. Invaders - Moslems in Spain,
Attila the Hun, Magyars, Vikings and Saracens - spread destruction
and despair across the Continent. Learning, the little that there
was, shrank into inaccessible places whose custodians were often monks,
such as those living on the island of Skellig Michael off the West coast
of Ireland. Christianity largely disappeared and had to be reintroduced
by St Columba who came by boat from Ireland to Iona in the year 563. Urban
living collapsed after the fall of Rome. Towns for example Roman London,
were largely abandoned, indeed London fell out of use for 200 years. The
monks and
church that remained
took the view that Roman unity and discipline mattered most to its
preaching and teaching mission. In many ways classic civilisation
was handed on as in a relay race, to the Church and eventually to Rulers
in both of whose hands it was preserved and utterly remade.
Since people had little
or no permanence in where they lived, anything that was made had to
be transportable. There was not much art produced and virtually
everyone was illiterate. It was thought bad to reproduce a figure
in the early years of the "Dark Ages". After the fifth
century Britain too had many invaders; Angles, Saxons, Jutes and later
Vikings quickly displaced or assimilated the indigenous people of the
regions they entered. They never truly settled anywhere,
ever-moving as their needs and resources changed. Eventually they
did settle and create homes and lifestyles for themselves, yet their
culture was never elaborate.
In England Alfred the
Great (849-900) grasped the need for more permanence and administration,
as Charlemagne King of the Franks had done before him. He brought
in monks and learned to read. Alfred was the first to introduce
a Royal Navy to defend our shores from marauders. By the year
1000 England had a much stronger view of itself.
Pat gave us a European
perspective of this time with many beautiful slides, we saw examples
of the Lindisfarne Gospel carpet page designs with glowing colours,
as well as metal work and carving which were produced late in the period.
The image of an exquisite chalice made in Northumberland and found
in Bavaria, remains with me. Martin
Turner
Mar 8: Ian
Beavis: The Renaissance of Tunbridge Wells
This was a fascinating
account of the development of Tunbridge Wells from a relatively small
haphazardly built town in the 18th century
centred on The Pantiles and the chalybeate spring to a thriving prosperous
19th century
fashionable residential venue.
The principal builders
and architects were the Burton family in association with the London
firm of John Wall. The tenth son of the Burtons, Decimus, at
the age of 23 with his own practice, came to the notice and approval
of John Wall. His classical Italianate designs, e.g Hyde Park
Gate and London Zoo, were outstanding. He was given the job of
planning Tunbridge Wells, and - later - St Leonards,
beginning in 1829 at the age of 29. By 1833 the enormous development,
covering 56 acres to the north and east of the town, naturally attracted
some strong objections (the first 'Disgusted of Tunbridge Wells'?)
Calverley Park with
its Nash influence was the first terrace with elegant squares, streets
and many individual house designs following. The sandstone for
all the buildings was quarried locally and the bricks made near-by. Hundreds
of workmen were housed in small specially built cottages. The
whole project lasted 30 years and included a wide range of uniquely
designed houses, public buildings and churches. The town was
by then large enough to have its own town council.
Dr Beavis’s lecture
was beautifully illustrated by lithographs and original plans. Photographs
showed many buildings still in existence to be seen today.
In
1840 a pause in the progress of the development occurred as demand
for properties had dried up. As soon as the railway arrived
in 1845 it brought
enewed impetus
and work continued. In 1869 Decimus Burton retired to St
Leonards. His work was ably continued by William Willacombe. Decimus
Burton died in 1881.
Outings and
Events for 2007
27th April: the
Milestone Society meets in the Greyhound at 19:30.
DOVER CASTLE We
start our full programme of outings and social events with a trip on
Saturday 28th April. Departure
will be at 08:15 from the Greyhound returning to Wadhurst about
18:00. The cost, to include a conducted tour of the Secret
Wartime Tunnels, is: £17 to non English Heritage Members
and £10.50 for members. Please
note the difference in costs and that if you are an English Heritage
member you will need to show your membership card on entrance or
pay the full sum on the day. Places
may be booked at a WHS meeting or by post from Rachel Ring, Chestnuts, Stone
Cross Road, Wadhurst TN5 6LR.
ROMNEY MARSH CHURCHES A
full day outing has been organised for Saturday
9th June. Departure
from the Greyhound at 08:45, home by approximately 17:30. The
cost of £26 includes visits to four churches with a
guide, morning tea/coffee, a ploughman’s lunch with tea/coffee
and a WI afternoon tea. Places may be booked at a WHS
meeting or by post from Rachel Ring, Chestnuts, Stone
Cross Road, Wadhurst TN5 6LR.
BARBECUE Our
fourth annual barbecue is on Sunday
29th July at
The Old Farmhouse, Beaumans, overlooking Bewl Water - at
the kind invitation of Mike Kent.
QUIZ NIGHT Saturday
29th September at
the Commemoration Hall. Your committee thought it would be
a first for Wadhurst to host a quiz devoted entirely to historical
questions. With two former history teachers on the
management team they will be masterminding this element of
the proceedings and we should be in for a very interesting evening. We
are promised that there will be a level of difficulty for everyone! Don’t
worry - almost everything can be reduced to a question of
history: art, music, sport - whatever. We will have
four rounds of questions, a supper, and four more rounds. Tables
will be for 6 people. Please book this exciting evening
out now in your diaries. Further details later in the
year.
HOUSES
OF PARLIAMENT AND ELTHAM PALACE
I am having great
difficulty tying this outing up because of the tight time schedules
the Houses have over guides and we need three consecutive departure
times. The pencilled-in date is Tuesday
16th October but
until around May I shall not know from Charles Hendry’s secretary
for sure as she cannot book tours more than six months in advance. I
had a date but it would have meant a departure from Wadhurst at
07:00 because of commuter traffic into London. On 16th October,
we will begin with a 1½ hour tour, hopefully around 10:30, then
half an hour with Charles. A break for light refreshment
in the café at the Houses of Parliament. and on to Eltham Palace
for an afternoon guided tour. Home by approximately
18:30. Again watch this space but make a note of the date.
AGM December
13th. After
the business element perhaps some imported entertainment
to set the scene for the festive season. Rachel
Ring
We have joined
this society, as we still have one or two old milestones left and,
of course, we are blessed with many old-style finger posts, which
the Parish Council has spent a lot of money repairing and repainting
in recent months. On Friday 27th April the Society has a meeting
in The Greyhound. If any of our members would like to come along,
phone Rachel Ring for further details.