Category: Articles

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Wessex Attractions: Silbury Hill

Silbury Hill is a neolithic chalk mound near Avebury in Wiltshire, the largest artificial mound in Europe. Roughly contemporary with the Egyptian pyramids, it is comparable in size, though its function is unknown, There is no known burial associated with the site, although local legend tells of a King Sil, who was buried along with his horse, both clad in golden armour. It is part of the Avebury UNESCO World Heritage Site.

The mund was not built all at once. Current archaeological research suggests that it was built over a period of around 120 years, between 2470 and 2350 BC. A geophysical survey has revealed evidence of a later Roman road and settlement near the site.

The legendary King Sil, or Zel, is sometimes said to haunt the mound, riding hs gold-armoured horse. Another legend, common to many prehistoric mounds. is that the Devil dumped a load of earth there in order to conceal a golden statue, because reasons. An excavation in 1849 had to be called off due to a thunderstorm, confirming the superstitions of the locals.

Silbury Hill is free to visit, though climbing the hill is forbidden due to the erosion of the site caused by large numbers of visitors. The postcode is SN8 1QH, and the what3words code is appointed.deal.confused. Bus routes 42 and X76 serve nearby West Kennett.

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Wessex Worthies: William Friese-Greene

William Friese-Greene (1855-1921) was known as the “father of cinematography” Born in Bristol, he was a successful photographer, with studios in Bristol, Bath and Plymouth. He is commemorated on blue plaques at Bristol’s City Hall (transferred from his birthplace at 12, College Place), at the Orpheus Cinema in Henleaze, and on the site of his former studio at 30, Union Street, Plymouth. An additional plaque at New Bond Street Place in Bath commemorates him jointly with John Arthur Roebuck Rudge, on whom more shortly.

Born simply William Edward Green, he was apprenticed to a local photographer, Maurice Guttenberg, upon leaving Queen Elizabeth’s Hospital School at the age of fourteen. At eighteen, he married a Swiss woman, Mariana Helena Friese, whose name he appended to his own. The couple moved to Bath where he met Rudge, an instrument maker and inventor, who collaborated with him in the development of moving pictures.

He registered a patent for a moving picture camera in 1889, and exhibited his first film, footage of Hyde Park Corner in London, in 1890. He continued to develop his processes throughout his life, including experimenting with a primitive form of colour film using alternating red, blue and green filters to create the illusion of colour. The stills above are from a 1924 film called The Open Road, shot by his son Claude after his death.

In 1951, Friese-Green was the subject of a highly romanticised biopic, The Magic Box, starring Robert Donat and a veritable who’s who of British character actors, including a memorable cameo from Laurence Olivier as a policeman.

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Wessex Attractions: Bishop’s Waltham Palace

The bishops of Winchester in the middle ages enjoyed a level of wealth and political power that would have had Jesus reaching for his whip of cords. One symbol of this prestige was the magnificent palace at Bishop’s Waltham, now a ruin maintained by English Heritage.

Originally a manor granted to the bishopric of Winchester by Edward the Elder in 904, the first palace was probably built by Henry de Blois, bishop of WInchester from 1129 to 1171, some time near the beginning of his tenure. It was extensively renovated by William of Wykeham, bishop from 1367 to 1404, and again by his successors, Henry of Beaufort and Thomas Langton.

During the English civil war (1642-9), Bishop’s Waltham was a royalist stronghold. but was captured by the parliamentarians and, it would appear, burnt down. Whether this was done accidentally or deliberately is not clear.

After World War 2, the property passed to the Ministry of Works, and then to English Heritage. The ruins are free to visit, open to the public daily between the hours of 10am and 5pm. There is a small museum which opens at weekends from noon to 4pm. The postcode is SO32 1DH and the palace is served by buses 7, 8, 17 and 69. The nearest railway station is Botley, 3½ miles away.

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Wessex in Fiction: A Horseman Riding By

A Horseman Riding By is a trilogy of novels by RF Delderfield set in Devon in the period between the end of the Boer War in 1902 and the funeral of WInston Churchill in 1965. It is an elegy for a lost England, and was adapted for television by the BBC in 1978.

The first novel, Long Summer Day tells of the protagonist, Paul Craddock, buying an estate in South Devon following his retirement from military service, and intertwines Craddock’s family saga with the historical events of the period leading up to World War I.

It is followed by Post of Honour, set in the inter-war period and ending with Craddock’s son Simon returning safely from Dunkirk.

Finally, The Green Gauntlet covers the rest of World War 2 and the post-war period. It ends with the death of Paul Craddock, symbolically happening shortly after that of Churchill.

The 1978 BBC adaptation by Alexander Baron, directed by Philip Dudley, starred Nigel Havers as Craddock. It was shown in 13 parts on Sunday evenings, but only adapted the first novel in the series. It has never been repeated, though it is available on DVD.

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Essential Wessex: Wessex in Classical Music

The 19th and early 20th centuries saw a vogue for nationalism in music. The rise in nationalist sentiment following the French revolution saw itself reflected in a number of composers rediscovering their own national musical traditions. These included Bela Bartok in Hungary, Jean Sibelius in Finland and Edvard Grieg in Norway. England was no exception. and three of its most important exponents came from Wessex.

Hubert Parry (1848-1918) was born in Bournemouth, and is best known for setting William Blake’s poem Jerusalem to music. Contrary to popular belief, the poem was not based on the legend of Jesus visiting Glastonbury, as this was a late Victorian invention, and post-dated Blake.

Ralph Vaughan Williams (1872-1958) from Down Ampney in Gloucestershire, was at the forefront of the English folksong revival of the early 20th century. Down Ampney is also the name of a hymn tune composed by Vaughan Williams, though he himself was an agnostic.

Gustav Holst (1874-1934), born in Cheltenham, also absorbed Wessex folk songs into his work. Whilst his best-known work by far is The Planets, he also wrote the orchestral pieces A Somerset Rhapsody and Egdon Heath, the latter subtitled A Homage to Thomas Hardy.

An honourable mention should also go to Percy Whitlock (1903-1946), who composed a Wessex Suite.