NEWSLETTER
2
Autumn 1971
Editor:
Joan Leese
Assisted
by Jennifer McCulloch, Mildred Shepherd and Deborah Wailer.
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As
well as Mr. Capper’ s stimulating speculations and the records of our summer
field days, there are three particular points of interest in this Newsletter.
In
Mr. Woodford’s article we are able to take an interest in the preservation of
something of historical value in the district, namely the old church at Edvin
Loach, which in fact we visited on the Society’s very first field day in the
Spring of 1967. Then, we are breaking new ground - widening, our interests, it
might be said by our introduction to the world of steam traction engine provided
by Mr Chapman’s letter. Thirdly, we have begun our own compilation of’
local folklore with the tales in Miss Shepherd’s article, in the letter from
Mrs. Marion Holbourn and “The Mournful Ballad” from Edwyn Ralph.
On
our cover in the future we hope to have an illustration of the carving of St.
Peter which is above the south door of Bromyard Parish Church.
……………………………………………………………………………….
THE
OLD CHURCH AT EDVIN LOACH
By
Guy Woodford
At
a meeting at Tedstone Delamere Rectory in September a working party was formed
to undertake the cleaning and repair of the ruins of the old parish church at
Edvin Loach, a scheduled ancient monument.
The
Inventory of the Royal Commission on Historical Monuments describes it as Norman
of the late 11th century. Others have described it as Saxon. The building
measures 40 feet by 18 feet. It consists of nave and chancel built in a single
rectangle, and a small tower to the west, added in the 16th century. The tower
is unusual in that it has no east, wall and was possibly open to the nave for
its entire height. No evidence survives to point to the alternative, a wooden
linte1 and superstructure.
In
the nave that is the western two-thirds of the main rectangle - there is
extensive herringbone work the fill length of its north wall and part of the
south. In the eastern third -the chancel end - there is none Here the north wall
is a later rebuild, close in date but probably not contemporary to the building
of the tower. The rest appears .to be integral with the east window which is
Norman. It has been suggested that the nave and chance represent two distinct
periods. Unfortunately there is no distinguishable break in the south wall to
support this. Much controversy surrounds the significance of herring-bone
masonry. Originally it was thought conclusive evidence of Saxon period. Earlier
this century Baldwin Brown claimed it was an almost infallible indication to the
contrary. Dr. H.M. Taylor (“Ang1o-Saxon Architecture, 1965) considers that it
gives no reliable evidence either way, but that it often is in fact Saxon; he
cites in particular Diddlebury, Shropshire. And in Herefordshire he suggests
that the herringbone work at Wigmore may well be Saxon. Perhaps in the course of
working on Edvin Loach more light may be thrown on its origins.
There
is considerable use of tufa. In the south wall are two features constructed
entirely of it; the head to the doorway consisting of monolithic lintel, plain
coursed tympanum and round arch, and a little to the east a tall narrow opening.
The upper stones of this window have fallen since photographed by the Royal
Commission (1930), and the structure above the doorway is now also in danger of
collapse. The inner lintel, or more probably arch, has long since disappeared;
in recent years the rest of the rear wall has fallen. As a result the features
of the outer face stand precarious, possibly only held by the wonderful display
of ivy above. Unfortunately this growth is also patiently prizing the masonry
apart.
The
clearance of vegetation and debris is one part of the working party’s task.
The other is to consolidate the fabric throughout and in places this will mean
the restoring of fallen masonry. Accurate information, such as early
photographs, is urgently needed. The bowl of the 12th century font survives as
four somewhat damaged segments with a band of chevron ornament. This too will be
reassembled.
Another
meeting was arranged for 11.30 am, on Saturday, 30th October. This was held on
the site and was open to anyone interested. In the meantime the working party
will begin clearing the site, but the main work will not start till the next
Spring.
………………………………………………………………………….
“BRQMYARD
QUEEN NANCE”
The
following letter has been received by Mrs. P.D. Williams from Mr. Brian Chapman
of 1 Merton Road, Histon, Cambridge:
‘I
am writing to you at the suggestion of Miss Jancy of the H.C.R.0. Some years ago
two friends and I purchased a steam traction engine, which spent most of its
working life in the Bromyard district. At this time it was owned and operated by
C. & J. Smith, Machinists and Haulage Contractors of Pencombe, and I imagine
you may know John (Jack) Smith, the surviving partner.
He
has told us of an incident involving our engine when it ran away down a steep
hill not far from Knightwick, ending on its side with three trailers and their
contents scattered on the road.
Mr.
Smith’ s memory (on his own admission) is not as clear as it was and we have
not been able to gain much precise detail as to when or where the mishap
occurred.
The
decayed state of the engine when we bought it from a scrap dealer was such that
we are completely rebuilding much of it, and. as an adjunct to the engineering
aspect we are recording our progress on film and paper. One of my
responsibilities is the historical aspect of the story and to this end I wrote
to Miss Jancy’ s office for help. She was unable to offer any assistance and
so I must trouble you.
We
have acquired a few photographs of our engine in its working days, but we would
be very interested to see any reference to the above incident. As much of the
engine had been stolen by scrap men, we are anxious to see any photographs
available, and this led us to wonder if anything appeared in the local paper
referring to the accident.
Our
engine is called “Bromyard. Queen Nance” and was made by John Fowler of
Leeds, it was by all accounts a very common sight around Bromyard. The engine
was new in 1909, and worked, until 1934 when it was retired at the Tiffins,
Pencombe. If you or any of the members of your Local History Society could offer
any word of information concerning reference to Bromyard Queen Nance, we would
be more than delighted to hear from you. We make occasional trips to see. Mr.
Smith, usually staying overnight at the Talbot, so if you have anything you
would like to tel1 us we shall be pleased to see you.’
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THE
CAPMAKERS
By
I. 0.Capper.
Elizabeth
1st in the thirteenth year of her reign ordered by, statute Cap XIX,
‘that every person above the age of seven shall wear upon the sabbath ……
upon his head a Cap of wool made within this realm and dressed and finished by
some of the trade of Cappers. Upon forfeit of 3s. 4d. ...’
Shakespeare mentions this statute cap. when he says in “Loves Labour’s
Lost”, ‘…..better wits have worn plain statute caps’, and the
poet’s uncle, William Shakespeare, was fined for not observing the law in
1583.
Wool’
had been England’ s chief trade throughout the Middle Ages and the little
Ryland sheep of Herefordshire and Shropshire, whose fleece weighed 1.5 lbs,
provided a staple of superb quality, unique to the area. On this account Ludlow
prospered and it is not surprising, perhaps, that the trade of Capmakers should
have grown with the town. But it is exceptional to find so many families
bearing the trade name of Capper so well established in the area, while so few
are noted in the eastern counties, and in other parts of England, where the wool
trade also flourished.
Records
that have survived show, that in the first half of the l6th~century, in the area
referred to, some thirty townships had living in them families bearing the trade
name. These townships stretched from Shrewsbury to Monmouth, but eighteen of
them were within 20 miles of Ludlow, that is to say, between the Shrewsbury to
Hereford road on the west and the River Severn on the east.
This
unusually dense distribution of a trade name is interesting, At what period of
time did makers of headwear begin to add their trade names to their baptismal
names? How many were there in the trade at any given time, and why so many
together? (Cottage industry?) Of course it could be simply that a family
of the name living around Shrewsbury in the Middle Ages spread its branches and
migrated southwards towards the sun, in common with all migrations, leaving
roots at Various villages and continuing southwards down the trade routes of
road and river. Certainly this applies to the numerous and prosperous family of
Edmund Cappur of Steenton, near Ludlow. In his will dated 1558, he mentions some
two dozen relatives living not only in the area but also in Oxfordshire and
London.
If
we assume that CAPPER and Cappur were the same, then why were those around
Shrewsbury and those in Herefordshire spelt CAPPER, while those in the Ludlow
area were spelt CAPPUR? If the local accent accounted for the pronunciation
CAPPUR, as it does to this day, then why not elsewhere in the area where the
accent does not vary greatly? The Bromyard & District Local History Society
has much erudition and may have the answers.
Perhaps
it is significant that the spelling CAPPUR has all but vanished, while the
proper spelling of the trade name remains in the cotunty and still farms sheep!
…………………………………………………………………..
THE
BELLS OF AVENBURY
The
following extract on the bells of Avenbury is from a letter sent by Mrs. Marion
Holbourn of Hoel Fanog, Brecon, whose father, the Rev. E.H. Archer Shepherd, was
the last Vicar of Avenbury and died in 1931:
‘The
church had three bells, these were sold to a London church which was blitzed in
the war. But “Gabriel” - the passing bell - had a beautiful Latin quotation
meaning “I am Gabriel, messenger from Heaven”, and this though cracked could
be restored.
The
biggest - “Andrew” used to toll of its own accord when disaster threatened
the Parish. Our charwoman, Sarah Walton, now 92 and very deaf, told me that
she was kept awake all night by the tolling of the bell on the night my father
died. Her address is 9, Schallenge Walk, Bromyard. I was not told in time to see
my father before he died, and Sarah said to me: “They said they did not know
he was dying; but they should have known; everyone knows that bell never tolls
for nothing.”
My
mother was entitled to stay on in the Vicarage for 3 months, but I had to hurry
her departure because she continually complained of sleepless nights on account
of “that bell”.’
In
an article enclosed with her letter Mrs. Holbourn cites other happenings. She
speaks of a number of occasions when music was heard from the empty church, the
first record of it being on the 8th September 1896, when the Vicar’s wife,
Mrs. Wilson, and the three adult children of Colonel Purser of Bromyard all
heard it at the same time. The Vicar also heard the music on occasions, and a
married couple claimed to have heard joyous voices at midnight on Christmas
night when the church was locked and in darkness. A funeral attended by people
without heads is said to have been seen, and a congregation of monks with cowls
over their heads, seen by a churchwarden, is mentioned. People also spoke of
seeing a beautiful damsel. Apart from these happenings, Mrs. Holbourn speaks
highly in her letter of Mr. Henry Pumphrey. She describes him as ‘the only
remaining Quaker’ and continues, ‘He was much respected, and it was said
that “his word was as good as his bond”. He used to spend an hour on Sunday
mornings, alone in the meeting house.’
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THE
STONE ROAD AT JUIVIPER’ S HOLE
By
Mildred Shepherd.
We
have received a most interesting letter from Miss Joan Hatton of Hereford, who
in the 1940s visited Stanford Bishop a great deal. She speaks of an ancient
track that traverses the parish. She says, ‘A vestige of the ancient track is
to be found on the Whelpley Brook which forms the boundary between the parishes
of Acton Beauchamp and Stanford Bishop. The spot is known as Jumper’s Hole,
where the bed of the little stream is paved with unworked slabs of water-worn
stone, one of which is pierced with a rounded hole ... The name Stanford may
therefore mean Stan = stone, ford from the welsh fordd, a road = the stone road.
Miss
Hatton also says, ‘In connection with Jumper’s Hole the fol1owing folk story
is told, “A woman stole a loaf of bread from Stanford Bishop. She mounted her
horse and galloped away down the hill She came to the brook and as the horse
jumped, the loaf fell from her basket onto a stone and there is the dent to this
day”. That Stanford- on -Teme is connected with Stanford Bishop is apparent
from a similar story concerning a stolen mare whose hoof marks were visible on
the stones as she galloped along the bed of the Sapey Brook. She also says,
‘That the stone road led southward into Herefordshire is probable, since this
folk-tale crops up again with St. Katherine riding the stolen mare on her entry
into Ledbury.’
The
above interested me so much that this summer I have been over, twice to Stanford
Bishop to see it as it Is now. I also asked the Rector and the farmer on whose
land Jumper’s Hole is, and collected two variations of the folk-story, one
that an old couple after shopping in Bromyard dropped a loaf, as they crossed
the brook and this caused the hole. The other, that as the horse jumped the
‘brook it put its foot on the stone and caused the hole - just about the same
as the Stanford-on-Teme legend. These legends crop up all over the country and
began in very early ages when people were groping for an explanation of
something they could not understand.
Studying
various maps, it does look as though foot-paths bridle paths and stretches of
road ‘if joined up could lead north to Stanford-on-Teme, and also south to
Ledbury. The ancient track is very clear through Stanford Bishop west of the
church drive. I was able to walk a short way on it though most of it is badly
overgrown now. Down the two sloping meadows it has become merged with the
meadows, with the one hedge -side left which is a boundary. hedge.
Miss
Hatton remarks on the circular shape of the Stanford Bishop churchyard, which
shows it was a holy place in early ages before Christianity She also mentions
the standing stone to the right of the gateway to the churchyard. This may well
be one of the ancient circle stones as it is on the periphery of the circle It
is at present hidden by holly in a tall mixed hedge.
The
crossing-place on the brook is made of natural rocks, of which there are a
number about, and consists of three flat boulders, one of which has the hole in
it There is no evidence of the stone setts put at fords in the Middle Ages to
help the packhorses keep a foothold crossing and go up the banks.
I
should think myself that with so many factors pointing to it, that Miss Hatton
has told us of one of the earliest tracks in the district, one probably
connecting with the Acton Beauchamp saltway mentioned by Professor G.B. Grundy.
…………………………………………………………………….
‘ALAS,
VAIN WORLD.’
Miss
M.B Lewis has sent us this copy, made by Mrs A. Moore of Tan House Terrace, of
the inscription on the memorial tablet on the, exterior of the west wall of
Bromyard Parish Church. The tablet, which is on the south side of the west
window, is crumbling and now nearly all the words are effaced so we are pleased
to record them:
‘Near
this place lieth the body
of
Elizabeth, wife of Joseph Bray
of
this town
She
died Feb 24 1836
Aged
57 Years.
Alas, vain world, I’ve
seen enough of thee
I
cares’t not what thou. sayest of me.
Thy
smiles I court not, nor thy frowns I fear
At
last in peace my head lies quiet here
The
faults you saw in me take care and shun,
Go
look at home, there’s something to be done.
………………………………………………………….
Baron
Ralph and Lord Yedvin
Also,
Mrs. Moore has drawn our attention to “The Mournful Ballad of Baron Ralph and
Lord Yedvin” which appeared in the Bromyard News & Record on 9th April
1931. This tells the story, in 57 lines of verse (over long to be given here on
this occasion, anyway), of the encounter between thee two noblemen
‘traditionally said to have taken place in a fair meadow near to the parish
church of Edvin Ralph’ for they both loved ‘a lady of great beauty, a dark
brunette, to view . Unfortunately she endeavoured to stop the fight and’ ...
by wild mischance the swords of both. In that maiden’s breast were laid.’
The ballad appears over the initials ‘J.N.’ and in a few introductory
remarks: he/she says, ‘No sufficient authority exists for calling the parish
Edwyn, as is now sometimes done by persons who should know better’. However, a
fortnight. later one of these castigated persons, the Rector of Edwyn Ralph
himself, the Rev. E.L. Childe - Freeman, wrote to the newspaper refuting “J.N.’s”
statement, by citing the use of the name ‘Edwyn’ in official document of the
16th and l7tb centuries.
…………………………………………………………….
VISIT
TO OFFA’S DYKE
By
Joan Leese.
In
June we visited Offa’s Dyke at Knighton and to the south of the town,
conducted by our good friend, Mr. Frank Noble, B.A., the founder of the Offa’s
Dyke Association and the author of the Shell Book on Offa’s Dyke Path.
We
were accompanied to the stretch of the Dyke in Knighton by Mr E.R. Waters,
chairman of the Tref-y-Clawdd 197O Society, a branch of the Association.
Tref-y-Clawdd, Town-on-the-Dyke, is the Welsh name for Knighton, and the Society
has created the Offa’s Dyke Park on the banks of the Teme around this stretch.
A month after our visit the Park was the site of the official opening of the
Offa’s Dyke Long-distance path by Lord Hunt, an ‘event commemorated by the
issue of a special cover, or envelope, in English and Welsh, with English and
Welsh stamps, and posted to those of us who bought them in a special post box
placed exactly on the Border between the two countries.
Mr
Waters described to us how the land had been obtained and cleared by his
Society. The high earth hank, covered with grass and wild flowers which is the
Dyke, is at right angles to the river. The western side is steep, but the other,
on the side of the town, slopes gradually into a field called Pinner’s Hole
which forms a natural amphitheatre.
To
the south of Knighton we travelled up rising ground along the Whitton road to
Rhos-y-.meirch (the Moor of the Mark) where Mr. Noble pointed out the line of
the Dyke. Going down over the Lugg we passed a part of the Dyke by the road at
Discoed, and then climbed up again, with hills all around us, to Pen Offa, where
the air can indeed be described as like wine, as my companions will bear me nut.
Here what is left of the Dyke stretches like a low uneven hump up a field and
into woodland. Probably here there was an opening in it, one of the official
frontier posts between Mercia and Wales. .
The
Saxon name for Knighton was Chenistetune, the town of the horsemen. Mr. Noble
described these horsemen as men who held land on the Border, and patrolled and
protected the Dyke on the English side, rather like the ranchers and cowboys who
pioneered the American West. During our visit we went to the church. The oldest
part of the building is the tower for the rest of the church was re-built in the
latter half of the last century, but what it lacks in antiquity it makes up for
by its appearance of being well cared for which impressed us. Tretower is
thought to be Norman, possibly 12th Century. In his notes on the church Mr.
Noble says, ‘The dedication of Knighton Church to “St. Edward, King and
Martyr’ must be associated with the presentation of that saint’s relics to
Leominster Priory when Henry I re-founded it, rather than dating back to
Edward’s martyrdom in 978 A.D.’
…………………………………………………………..
FOUR
CHURCHES IN THE GOLDEN VALLEY
Edna
D. Pearson
One
lovely July afternoon under the guidance of Mr. H.J. Powell, F.R.I.B.A., we met
to visit some of the ancient churches of which there are so many in
Herefordshire, all built for one purpose, hut with such fascinating diversity.
We
joined Mr Powell it Abbey Dore, one of the few monastic churches that now serves
as a parish church. The Cistercians, who always set their abbeys in wild and
remote places, built the present church about 1180. Additions and
extensions were made in the 13th century and it was then that the wall at the
east end was replaced by the beautiful columns and arches which are amongst the
finest in the county. The Abbey was suppressed in 1535 and the buildings soon
became a ruin The land was granted to the Scudamore family, and it was Viscount
Scudarnore who began to repair the church in 1632. The archways at the west end
of the present church were blocked up, sealing off the ruined nave.
We
entered the church at the crossing and were impressed with the lofty roof and
the heavy oak screen, the work of John Abel. The roof and all the wood-work,
with the exception of the pulpit, are known to be by Abel the famous
Herefordshire architect and craftsman. Abel, generally known as the “King’s
Carpenter”, is said to have earned the title by building powder mills for the
Royalists in Hereford during the Civil War/ He died at the age of 97 and his
tomb is beside the door at the little church of Sarnsfield.
There
are faded paintings on the walls of the crossing, and higher in the north wall
is a blocked, doorway through which the monks passed frum their dormitory down
the night stairs which descended into the church - a physical concession even in
the austere early days of monasticism for the monks ‘day’ began at midnight
when they made their way from a cold dormitory to an even colder church. The
altar is the original stone table showing the five consecration crosses. Thrown
out of the church, it was recovered from farm buildings and replaced in 1633.
From
Abbey Dnre we proceeded to Vowchurch with its half-timbered bell turret and,
after the pure simplicity of Dore, were almost overpowered by the massive
timbers of the roof and the huge oak posts set against the walls. We learnt from
a tablet on the wall that the rather crude and heavy oak screen, which adds to
the generally weighty appearance of the church, was made by the children of
Thomas and Margaret Hill in 1613.
We
had our tea in a shady spot opposite the church. Beside us the river flowed
under a little bridge. Before the Normans came this river was known by its Welsh
name of the Dwr, meaning the water, which to the conquerors sounded like D’or,
and so we get our Golden Valley, and the river now known as the Dore.
At
Peterchurch, after being pleasantly delayed by a group of morris men in
colourful costumes dancing in the street, we made our way to the church with its
peculiar tower. This originally supported a tall slender spire built in the 14th
century and the third highest in the county declared unsafe in 1949, it was
taken down. Another rather unusual external feature is a door high up in the
tower. Reached through this door by a ladder from the ground, the tower was a
place of refuge when Welsh raiders crossed the Border. Also outside the church
Mr. Powell pointed out the hinge pins, beside a window on the north wall, to
support the shutters when the game of fives was played against the church.
Inside
is a perfectly kept, lofty, aisleless Norman church of surprising beauty with
three great arches leading from the long nave to the apsidal East end, making
four divisions in the church In the apsidal sanctuary and beneath a Norman
window is the original huge altar stone, similar to that at Dore, which somehow
escaped destruction at the Reformation The small Norman windows are set in walls
so skilfully angled that they let in a surprising amount of light On the south
wall of the nave we saw a painted replica of a fish with a golden .chain,
illustrating the local legend that such a fish with a golden chain round its
neck had been caught in the Golden well, Peterchurch, once upon a time. One
other pride of Peterchurch is an enormous yew tree in the churchyard, said to
have been planted in the 13th century.
From
Peterchurch we went through narrow lanes to Madley and the church which at first
sight gives the impression of a small cathedral. The north porch is all that is
left of the church the Normans built which was altered and enlarged in the 13th
century. The nave, without pews, has the appearance of a huge hall, with three
rows of slender pillars reflected in the polished floor The fine chancel,
extended in the 14th century, ends in an apse The large Chilton Chapel, open to
the nave, gives the impression of a third aisle. A crypt, rare in a parish
church, has two sets of stairs leading to it In pre - Reformation days the
church claimed to have held some relic of the Virgin Mary possibly kept in the
crypt through which pilgrims passed via the two stairways. This may account for
the building of such a large and magnificent church in this location.
............................................................................................
THE
FOREST OF DEAN
Joan
Leese
‘The
Birmingham of the country’ hardly seems descriptive of an area of woods and
heaths, with wide easterly views over the horse-shoe loop of the River Severn
and westerly ones over the Wye Valley, but that was how the Forest of Dean, in
former days was represented to us when we visited it on the last Sunday in
September. As we were shown old iron mines and coal workings where still in
production, and the forests where the first kinds of blast furnace were used we
began to appreciate the description.
The
excursion was arranged by Mr Thomas Weale in conjunction with his uncle, Mr. M .
J. Beddington of Cinderford. Mr. Beddington is a native of the Forest, has
written about it, and, among other activities, is an East Dean Rural District
Councillor. His love for the area is obvious, his knowledge extensive and his
enthusiasm infectious. We could not have wished for a better guide.
Beginning
our tour at Mitcheldean, in the north, we moved south-westwards to St. Bravels
and then northwards again to the Speech House and Cinderford. The places we
visited covered in age a great range in time, from the Celtic camp at Welshbury,
which we passed soon after leaving Mitcheldean, to the Haie Tunnel, the first
railway tunnel in the world. But we were constantly reminded of the iron ore,
and later the coal, which had made the Forest so important. On the road from
Mitcheldean, by Gun Mills which speaks for itself as a former arsenal, and
Welshbury Mr. Beddingtnn told us there were blast furnaces all along the
pleasant valley in which Flaxley Abbey stands.
Over
Pope’s Hill, where we looked across the loop of the Severn below us to the
Cotswold heights cm the horizon, we went and then through Little Dean, where
there is an old gaol, now obscured by new houses which was built of local stone
by local men and local cnnvicts. Driving along the Soudley Valley, on the road
which is called the Old Danes road although it is also part of a Roman road, we
passed Abbotswood which was the only place where the monks of Flaxley Abbey were
allowed to cut trees for iron smelting after they had abused the privilege of
felling one oak a week in the Forest.
At
Soudley Camp Mr Beddington said he thought it had been established by the Romans
as it was by a Roman road, but his nephew, Mr Weale, disagreed, contending it
was a British camp because of it shape. Mrs Daphne Davies settled the matter
neatly, to the satisfaction of all of us, by suggesting it had been established
by the British and then used by the Romans.
In.
contrast to this anitiquity, our next call was to the entrance of Haie Tunnel,
now blocked up. This mile-long railway tunnel, the first in the world carried
iron and coal from the Forest to the banks of the Severn, and was closed only
about five or six years ago.
We
went back to the woods again, towards Blackpool Bridge, and lunched by a stretch
of the Roman road which ran from Lydney to Mitcheldean and was laid in the 1st
century or the early 2nd. On the way there we stopped to look at the Drummer Boy
Stone, set in the undergrowth beside a stream. This, which looks like any old
stone, roughly rectangular in shape with two small hollows scooped out of the
top of it, is claimed to be one of the earliest blast furnaces, used with skin
bellows, and may be 3,000 - 4,000years old. There seems to be no explanation for
its present name of Drummer Boy.
If
any particular place could be described as providing a highlight in such a
constantly interesting tour it was the Clearwell Caves. We descended over a
hundred feet down into semi-darkness, squeezed through narrow cavities,
scrambled up rock and went down a dark tunnel The owner, Mr R.Wright, showed us
three caves at different levels. In the first one he ran up a tall rock, as
nimble as Puck, and standing above us described how these old iron mines were
formed The iron ore formed in stalactites through the action of water on the
minerals in the ground above, and mining was at first easy for the ore could be
broken off in bars from the soft recent formations. Mr. Wright said it was not
known when mining began in the Forest, scratches on the side of the cave might
be 500 years old, or 2,000 or 3,000 His words were calm and factual, but the
setting he had provided for us was very dramatic, one felt like the member of a
resistance group or a refugee from natural disaster or human tyranny above
ground. The largest and lowest cave has a level floor, and a ceiling probably
higher than that of Bromyard Parrish Church; it is used for social functions.
We
took our tea under the trees at Bream Scowles, where the iron ore was scooped
out of the surface of the ground leaving great hollows of rock and a grotto
called the Devil’s Pulpit. Then on to St. Briavels Castle, possessed in the
12th century by Milo, Earl of Hereford, and now a Youth Hostel. On the opposite
side of the road stands the church, and below them stretches the Wye Valley.
At
a Free Miners Mine we saw that the coal industry is still being carried on in
the Forest, and then we visited the Speech House, in the trees on the road
midway between Coleford and Cinderford. The Speech House which was built for the
administratien of the Forrest in the late 17th century, is new a hotel. The
Verderers’ Court Room has been preserved, with its oak dias where the feor
Verderers still sit end transact business regularly, although it is alsoused as
the hotel dining-room.
We
finished cur day at Cinderford, where standing en the Mount which was once a
slag heap but has new been softened by grass and wild flowers, Mr. Beddington
showed us where we had been spread out below us.
…………………………………………………………………….
OUR
GRATEFUL THANKS
The
Society thanks these who have led us on our field days, and these who have
allowed us to explore their property during them and on individual
investigations.
