Castle Acre and Massingham

Day two on our stay in Happy Valley, and we headed to Massingham and had a lovely lunch at the Dabbling Duck, before moving on the Castle Acre to see the massive ruins of the Norman Castle (which gives its name to the town)

The castle was built by William de Warenne soon after William the Conquer gave him the land. It was lived in by his family until the early 14th century, when it fell into ruin. Considering how old the ruins are, a fair amount has survived.

You can get a sense of the scale of this castle from these images, I hope.

Some history of the site

The Bailey Gate is one of two stone gatehouses added to the settlement's massive earthwork defences in about 1200. The main road into the village still runs between its towers.
Adjoining the castle grounds are the ruins of one of the largest and best-preserved monastic sites in England dating back to 1090. It was the home of the first Cluniac order of monks to England and the Cluniac love of decoration is everywhere reflected in the extensive ruins. It was the castle we came to see so we did not visit this site.

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Glamping in King Nutkins, Happy Valley, Grimston

 This year we celebrated 50 years of marriage (how time flies!) and beside celebration meals, we were given a holiday in Norfolk by our wonderful family. Rather than waste the day we were travelling up there, we went early in the day and detoured to Sandringham - see the previous post, before a short journey to King Nutkins, where we would spend the next two nights.

It was a magical site in the woods, with only 6 vans on site, but where the owners had converted their farm building to a fabulous wedding site overlooking a lake surrounded by beautiful gardens. The Vans looked down over the venue but discreetly placed.

King Nutkins amongst the trees.

Rosey enjoying a drink on the veranda area. Behind and below was a campfire / barbecue area, not that that weather was quite warm enough.

Two views of the wedding area with hall, kitchen, bar, and outdoor seating.

 

Two more views of the grounds

Wooden carved wings in the grounds by the lake

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Sandringham - the Royal residence

Sandringham House is a country house in the parish of Sandringham, Norfolk, England. It is one of the royal residences of Charles III, whose grandfather, George VI, and great-grandfather, George V, both died there. The house stands in a 20,000-acre (8,100 ha) estate in the Norfolk Coast Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. The house is listed as Grade II* and the landscaped gardens, park and woodlands are on the National Register of Historic Parks and Gardens.

The site has been occupied since Elizabethan times, when a large manor house was constructed. This was replaced in 1771 by a Georgian mansion for the owners, the Hoste Henleys. In 1836 Sandringham was bought by John Motteux, a London merchant, who already owned property in Norfolk and Surrey. Motteux had no direct heir, and on his death in 1843, his entire estate was left to Charles Spencer Cowper, the son of Motteux's close friend Emily Temple, Viscountess Palmerston. Cowper sold the Norfolk and the Surrey estates and embarked on rebuilding at Sandringham. He led an extravagant life, and by the early 1860s, the estate was mortgaged, and he and his wife spent most of their time on the Continent.

In 1862 Sandringham and just under 8,000 acres of land were purchased for £220,000 for Albert Edward, Prince of Wales, later Edward VII, as a country home for him and his future wife, Princess Alexandra of Denmark. Between 1870 and 1900, the house was almost completely rebuilt in a style described by Pevsner as "frenetic Jacobean". Albert Edward also developed the estate, creating one of the finest shoots in England. Following his death in 1910, the estate passed to Edward's son and heir, George V, who described the house as "dear old Sandringham, the place I love better than anywhere else in the world".[2] It was the setting for the first Christmas broadcast in 1932. George died at the house on 20 January 1936. The estate passed to his son Edward VIII and, at his abdication, as the private property of the monarch, it was purchased by Edward's brother, George VI. George was as devoted to the house as his father, writing to his mother Queen Mary, "I have always been so happy here and I love the place". He died at Sandringham on 6 February 1952.

On the King's death, Sandringham passed to his daughter Elizabeth II. The Queen spent about two months each winter on the Sandringham Estate, including the anniversary of her father's death and of her own accession in early February. In 1957, she broadcast her first televised Christmas message from Sandringham. In the 1960s, plans were drawn up to demolish the house and replace it with a modern building, but these were not carried out. In 1977, to mark her Silver Jubilee, the Queen opened the house and grounds to the public for the first time. Unlike the royal palaces owned by the Crown, such as Buckingham Palace, Holyrood Palace and Windsor Castle, the monarch personally owns Sandringham (along with Balmoral Castle in Scotland).

Now, since the death of our beloved Queen, the house has passed to her son Charles III.

Our trip to Sandringham was greatly anticipated, having read about the place over the years and often thought about paying a visit. Making our way around the outlying grounds, we saw some autumn colours, but not too many. The one below stood out well I thought.

One of our first views of the house.

Another, closer view at this magnificent property.

Some more views around the beautiful grounds. It certainly sits on a great estate.

Most Christmases, we are used to seeing the monarch greeting the locals at Sandringham Church, so obviously we had to go there. 

The parish church of St Mary Magdalene, Sandringham, has held memorials to many members and relations of the Royal Family from Queen Victoria onwards. It is used regularly as a place of worship by the Royal Family and Estate staff.

Sandringham Church is considered to be one of the finest carrstone buildings in existence and dates back in its present form to the 16th century. 

Other notable features include a Florentine marble font, a Greek 9th-century font and stained glass from the 16th-century onwards. If you are wondering what Carrstone is, I had to look it up and found: Carrstone (or carstone, also known as Silsoe, heathstone, ironstone or gingerbread) is a sedimentary sandstone conglomerate formed during the Cretaceous period. It varies in colour from light to dark rusty ginger. Used as a building stone, it can be found in Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire and extensively in the historic buildings of northwest Norfolk.

The sumptuously decorated chancel with its carved angels frames the silver altar and reredos presented to Queen Alexandra by the American Rodman Wanamaker as a tribute to King Edward VII. He also presented her with the silver pulpit (below)

The grand silver pulpit.

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Broadway Folly and the quiet village of Stanton

The 'Broadway Folly` was the brainchild of Capability Brown and designed by James Wyatt in 1794 in the form of a castle, and built for Barbara, Countess of Coventry in 1798–1799. The tower was built on a beacon hill, where beacons were lit on special occasions. Lady Coventry wondered whether a beacon on this hill could be seen from her house in Worcester — about 22 miles (35 km) away — and sponsored the construction of the folly to find out. Indeed, the beacon could be seen clearly!

Nowadays the tower is a great tourist attraction for the area.

The view from the ground level near the tower. From the top it must be magnificent but having to book, and pay a small fortune, puts us off from going to the top. Mind you, the number of steps might have swayed us as well!

On to the small village of Stanton and a look at its church of course.

A view of the main street in Stanton and an individual house near the edge of the village. I just love these quaint and sleepy villages, this one being no exception.

This is the church of St Michael in Stanton.

Inside - and a startling view as there is a Rood in the position where virtually all churches had them until the Reformation. The religious frenzy that followed destroyed most of them, however, on examination I found out that this one is quite modern, having been erected as a World War memorial to the fallen soldiers. Great idea.

It seems possible that a Saxon church on the present site was served in early times by the monks of Winchcombe Benedictine Abbey, as the Manor, tithes and patronage of Stanton were bestowed on the Abbey by Kenulf, King of Mercia in 811 CE. Unfortunately, most records were destroyed in the disastrous fire at Winchcombe Benedictine Abbey in 1151 CE.

The reredos, by Sir Ninian Comper, also commemorates casualties of the First World War and dates from 1915 CE. The alabaster figures represent the Virgin Mary, St. Peter, St. Michael and St. Barnabas (Patron Saint of Snowshill). 

The Gothic pulpit (c. 1375 CE), now used as a lectern, is interesting, because it was unusual for the clergy to preach from a pulpit in church at that time, the village cross being used for that purpose. 

In the North transept is a passage squint - such passage squints are rare. This a small church tucked away but with a huge history just waiting to be discovered.

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Chipping Camden

Chipping Campden High Street is one of the most beautiful in the Cotswolds. With a wealth of history and architecture mostly built in Cotswold stone, the High Street is riddled with history, heritage, and intrigue. It was laid out in this format by Hugh De Gondeville, a close friend of King Henry II, so that is around mid 12C. De Gondeville quickly realised that the town needed a market to improve revenues for the King. So having been granted the Charter by the King, he set about laying out the street in the burgage style you see today. (A burgage was a town ("borough" or "burgh") rental property (to use modern terms), owned by a king or lord. The property usually, and distinctly, consisted of houses on a long and narrow plot of land)

The word “Chipping” is derived from the anglo-saxon word “Chepping” meaning “market”. Hence, we find Chipping Norton, Chipping Sodbury etc. This was also the derivation for “Cheapside” the big market in London.

Sir Baptist Hicks (1550/51-1629) was a very wealthy London merchant who gained a knighthood and other honours from James I, presumably because he loaned the king thousands of pounds when he came to the throne in 1603. He owned land and property all over England and acquired the Manor of Campden in 1612.

He made many benefactions to Campden including the Almshouses, the Market Hall and gifts to the Church which included the pulpit and the lectern.

From the church, you can see the ruins of Campden House, a large country mansion and formal gardens built by him in around 1612. Sir Baptist Hicks died in 1629 and bequeathed Campden House, Campden and all its contents to his elder daughter Juliana, who had married Lord Edward Noel in 1605.

Campden supported the Royalist cause but being so close to the crossing of two important routes – one used by Parliamentarians and the other by Royalists – things were rarely quiet. In January 1645 Colonel Henry Bard and his three hundred troops occupied Campden. Bard reported to Prince Rupert that he had arrived at ‘Cambden House, with my forces’ and they were ‘taking great pains, with spades, mattocks, and shovels’ to fortify the house. But in May that year, the garrison was withdrawn and marched westwards to Evesham where they joined the King’s army on its way towards Worcester. Before leaving, the house, built less than 40 years before, was set on fire and burned to the ground on the orders of Prince Rupert, it is thought.

It was in 1627 that Sir Baptist Hicks built a market hall on the High Street of this pretty north Cotswold town. The hall was intended to provide shelter from the elements for merchants and farmers selling goods like cheese, butter, and poultry (not, as you might think, wool). The side walls were open arches to allow light, and customers, access to the market stalls. 

The floor of the market hall was made of simple cobbles, now worn smooth by the passage of time and thousands of feet. The building is listed Grade I for its historic importance.

Some of the ruins of Campden House, as seen from the church.

The Grade II listed entrance gates to Old Campden House

Sir Baptist Hicks had the Almshouses built in 1612 at a cost of £1,000 to provide accommodation for six poor men and six poor women who were allowed a weekly allowance of 3s. 4d. and “a frieze gown and a ton of coals and a felt hat” annually.  They still provide homes for twelve elderly people and remain much as they were, apart from the addition of a modern kitchen and bathroom rather than the original “one up, one down” layout with a shared outside privy!

In the centre of the main block of the Almshouses is this carving of the coat of arms of Sir Baptist Hicks, with its Latin motto Nondum metam, which means something like – ‘I have not yet reached my goal’ or ‘I am not yet finished’.

At one point in the High Street, we found something I had never seen before. In fact, I had not heard of them either. It was a Cart Wash.

The cart wash is located opposite the Almshouses. It dates from the early 1800s and replaced a pond at the bottom of Church Street, originally used for the purpose of allowing a cart to wash its wheels and stand in water, so that wooden wheels could expand in dry weather and remove the mud in severe weather. If wheels were allowed to dry out the spokes loosened and the iron tyres on the wheels would fall off.

The Anglican Church of St James at Chipping Campden was built in the 15th century incorporating an earlier Norman church. It is a grade I listed building. The influence of Sir Baptist Hicks can be seen here.

This tomb of Sir Baptist Hicks and his wife is possible one of the largest I have ever seen in a church.

Sir Baptist Hicks gave money for the pulpit and lectern and gave £200 to re-roof the nave.

So, to finish, an image of a newer property, made to blend into the area.

Overall, a wonderful place to visit with all its history. Lunch was had in a pub/ cafe overlooking the High Street. A wonderful way to finish our visit.

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