Shuttleworths, Shuttleworths everywhere … some Old Warden history

Gawthorpe Hall in Lancashire

Shuttleworth College in Bedfordshire

See how similar the two buildings above are – they are connected only by the name “Shuttleworth”. In October I met a former work colleague, who lives in Lancashire, at Gawthorpe Hall. I knew the owners were the Kay-Shuttleworths but I never at all linked their name with the Collection with the same name down in Bedfordshire.

I was fascinated to read in the Keeper’s Cottage History Album :

“What is intriguing is that there seems to have been no connection whatsoever between Joseph Shuttleworth and the Gawthorpe (by then Kay) Shuttleworths. In seeking to establish his own pedigree in Bedfordshire, Joseph seems to have wished to imply a connection with these ancient, Lancastrian namesakes that was apparently without foundation. He adopted a crest that was similar to their own and the family arms also feature the Gawthorpe Shuttleworth’s ‘three shuttles sable tipped and fringed with quills of yarn and threads bend or; a cubit arm in armour proper grasping in the gauntlet a shuttle of arms.’

… the estate at Old Warden represented a perfect fit for the new dynasty, with a model village half begun by an expiring family (the Ongleys) offering the opportunity for benevolent philanthropy as well as revivication of an ancient estate.”

The Landmark Trust have published a history booklet “Old Warden and the Shuttleworth Estate : the history of Old Warden told through three buildings; Warden Abbey, Queen Anne’s Summerhouse and Keeper’s Cottage”.

Warden Abbey (now also a Landmark Trust property)

Queen Anne’s Summerhouse (now also a Landmark Trust property)

I was able to buy a copy from the housekeeper at Keeper’s and it tells the history, briefly, of the area from the foundation of the Cistercian Warden Abbey in 1135 to the present day co-operation between the Shuttleworth Trust and The Landmark Trust.

The Shuttleworth Trust was set up by Dorothy Shuttleworth following the early death in 1940 during an RAF flying accident of her only son and the squire of Old Warden, Richard Ormonde Shuttleworth. The hall became a hospital during the War and afterwards the devastated mother turned the entire estate into a charitable trust in his memory. The hall is now a College specialising in running outdoor and country-based courses. Richard’s collection of old aeroplanes formed the original Shuttleworth Collection.

I took a walk one day to visit St Leonard’s church, in Old Warden (2 stars in Jenkins’s book). Unfortunately it’s only open at the weekend so I wasn’t able to inspect the various Ongley and Shuttleworth memorials and the 14th century window depicting an abbot in a white habit from the Cistercian Warden Abbey. But in the porch Richard is commemorated and the Ongley Mausoleum and the Shuttleworth graves lie in the churchyard.

St Leonard’s Church

The porch is a memorial to Richard Shuttleworth

The Ongley Mausoleum

The Shuttleworth Grave

Additional Note :

Village sign in 2009

The Sign today in 2012

I’m not sure that I don’t prefer the older, more distinctive one.

A Marshland Church – Terrington Saint Clement

Nov29

This morning whilst sipping my morning tea and flicking through a back issue of Country Life (17 October 2012) I noticed a single page in a series devoted to things to see in country churches. My eye was caught by the name Terrington Saint Clement and the amazing 17th century painted font cover. I recognised the name of this village and, checking my road atlas, found it lay very close to my route to Norwich; just in Norfolk and west of Kings Lynn. As I just happened to be driving down to Norwich this morning I decided this would be just the spot to have my picnic lunch and take a look at the church and the stunning font cover.

It was a beautiful day for the drive and after my quick picnic lunch I headed for the church door. Like many churches it’s kept locked but the notice on the door told me to call at the house next door to collect the key. So I did.

The Church Door Key

Once inside I could see what Simon Jenkins meant when he said “This church is a hymn to light”.

The font is indeed impressive. The triptych was closed but I gently lifted the latch and the whole opened up to display the 17th century paintings of Saints Matthew, Mark, Luke and John and the baptism of Christ by Saint John The Baptist. The Gothic font cover, painted blue, rises up almost to the church rafters.

The font cover

The open triptych

Saint Matthew

St John

St Mark

St Luke

Interestingly, the tower is not attached to the church itself. Jenkins suggests that this was probably due to the soft soil of this marshland region.

“The tower came into its own during a flood in 1670 when the community gathered there and were fed by boat from King’s Lynn” This could easily have happened again this week since I noticed that many of the fields around Terrington and in the Fens were looking pretty wet, to say the least.

Bolton Percy : the Perfect October Morning Out

Oct13

Barely half an hour’s drive from home we turned off the A64 Leeds to York road into Tadcaster and there’s a little sign ‘Bolton Percy’, which would be easy to miss, just after crossing the River Wharfe in the centre of town. About 3 or 4 miles down this lane and we arrived at the village of Bolton Percy. On the right as you enter the village there’s a cricket green and pavilion and soon on the left is the car park for D’Oyly’s Tea Room.

We parked up and went to explore the village. Right in the centre are the four other things we came to see –

the No-dig churchyard,

All Saints church,

the Crown Inn

by the ancient river crossing

and the piece de resistance the fifteenth century Bolton Percy Gatehouse recently fully restored and now let as holiday accommodation by The Vivat Trust.

I first heard about the village of Bolton Percy when The Vivat Trust added the Gatehouse to its portfolio. Later I read a magazine feature in Intelligent Life about Tom Denny and the installation of the Millennium Window in All Saints Church. Any reference to English country (or other) churches always leads me to my Simon Jenkins’ ‘England’s thousand best churches‘ (All Saints was awarded one star) and a couple of years ago Nun Appleton Hall (about a mile or so from BP) turned up in another book I was reading : Michael Holroyd’s ‘A Book of Secrets: illegitimate daughters, absent fathers‘. (I checked with the waitress at D’Oyly’s) and it’s impossible to see the Hall from the road and no Rights of Way pass through the estate). Internet searches for Bolton Percy bring up D’Oyly’s and further searches for All Saints church bring up references to Roger Brook and his No-Dig Gardening in the churchyard. So, when a walking friend urged me to let her treat me to lunch or tea as a ‘thank you’ for the lifts I’ve given her (I’m always happy to have her company anyway) I suggested we might give Bolton Percy a try.

Jenkins says : “The church sits on the Yorkshire plain next to the remains of a river crossing. The gatehouse of an ancient manor lurks next door among the trees”

“The early 15th century church is big and grey, its white limestone interior darkened by age and stained glass, but saved from impenetrable gloom by some clear windows in the south aisle.”

“The Jacobean box pews are complete, with charming knobs as poppy-heads.” Currently decorated in anticipation of Harvest Festival.

“There are two pulpits, one early 17th century and one early 18th century, the former austere, the latter more flamboyant, its tester supported on an Ionic column.”

Then there are the stained glass windows : an east window with a rare depiction of the Virgin Mary as its centre piece;

the Burne-Jones for Morris and Co. Caritas window;

the Millennium window by Tom Denny inspired by Isaiah 43: “I will even make a way in the wilderness, and rivers in the desert.” The River Wharfe flows through it and an owl and a curlew are flying.

Outside and just across the road is the continuation of the churchyard. This lovely, natural space is full of wildflowers and a haven for wildlife and a peaceful resting place for Bolton Percy villagers. I’m sure it is hard work keeping it looking naturally ‘unkempt’.

It was a difficult decision as to where to take lunch but we finally chose the tea room and enjoyed a toastie followed by tea and lemon cake. All homemade and beautifully served on classic china. A perfect morning out.

Tea and Cake and Quiet London (1)

Aug21

Our visit to Benjamin Franklin House (QL p. 23) on Friday was such a success for us both that we decided to devote the rest of the weekend following up places suggested by Siobhan Wall in her book Quiet London and some eateries suggested in another little book of mine Tea and Cake London by Zena Alkayat.

From BHF we trotted off to Lincoln’s Inn Fields to try to track down The Fleet River Bakery (T&C L p. 40) mentioned in the Tea and Cake book. We eventually found it and bought ourselves tea and cake (my cake was Hummingbird – pineapple, mango and pineapple – so lovely and moist). We decided not to eat in but to take our food and drink into the Lincoln’s Inn Fields and picnic on a park bench in the sun.

London is so interesting and you never know what you might see so we usually walk whenever we can. Our route back to the hotel took us along Fleet Street, Ludgate Hill, past St Paul’s Cathedral, past 30 St Mary Axe (The Gherkin, to you and me) and finally to Aldgate and Minories.

The Royal Exchange and The Gherkin

We called a few of the Quiet restaurants that evening but all were full. We ended up at Morito the Tapas bar next to and owned by Moro on Exmouth Market. The tapas was excellent but the bar would not gain a place in Quiet London!

Next day we had a number of places in mind and began our Quiet London Trail at the Crypt Museum (QL p. 20). A 20 minute ‘pop in’ to the church of All Hallows By The Tower ended about two hours later! You can see why (and this poster does not mention the exhibition “Bonuses, Benefits & Bailouts : the morality of the King James Bible”).

All Hallows By The Tower

“To tie in with the 350th anniversary of the Book of Common Prayer, All Hallows by the Tower and The Museum of the Book in Limehouse are pleased to present this exhibition of manuscripts, first edition bibles, prayer books and other artefacts challenging our thinking on issues of legality versus morality using the King James Bible as a starting point.” [Summer Programme leaflet]

“This tiny museum lies underneath one of London’s original Saxon churches. In the crypt is a Roman tesselated floor from a house built in the late 2nd century. The museum also holds registers dating back to the 16th century. The highlight, however, is the intricate brasses inlaid in the stone floor of the church, near the altar.” [Quiet London, p. 20]

Moving on from All Hallows we visited The Wellington Arch. Recently opened by English Heritage this London landmark has not yet arrived in Quiet London. You can climb (or take the lift) to the top for views towards Hyde Park, Buckingham Palace Gardens, Green Park and Piccadilly. There’s an exhibition space (at the moment it commemorates 100 years of Blackpool Illuminations and the Blackpool Tower), a further gallery showing the history of the Arch and its former locations plus a bijou bookshop of London book titles.

Next up we crossed the river (underground by tube) to Vauxhall. During the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries the pleasure gardens of Vauxhall were one of the London places to see and be seen but our hunt was for something very much more esoteric : Bonnington Square Garden (QL p. 46).

Bonnington Square Garden

“Known as ‘the Pleasure Garden’ in homage to the Vauxhall Pleasure Gardens, this former bomb site and derelict playground was transformed by the imaginative residents of the Bonnington Square Garden Association. Amazingly, this south London oasis is full of lush tropical plants and intriguing public sculptures.” [QL p. 46]

The residents continued their enthusiasm for all things green by planting out more areas in the neighbourhood, on street corners and other small open spaces.