The restoration and living in of an English country cottage
Author: cottagecapers
Hi, I'm Hazel....
I write purely for pleasure; I love to delve in history, customs, traditions and nature....or whatever else grabs my attention at the time....
I am in no way an expert on what I choose to write about - I simply love to find out about things.... Whilst I always endeavour to get the facts right - occasionally I may get things wrong.... I guess you could call this my disclaimer....
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On this day in history : 20th November 869 – Edmund the Martyr, Saxon King of East Anglia, is slain by the Vikings…. The town of Bury St. Edmunds in Suffolk is named for him….
A medieval illumination depicting the death of Edmund the Martyr – Public domain
Little is known about Edmund as the Vikings destroyed all evidence of his reign…. He was king from around 855 and thought to have been East Anglian in origin….
The Great Heathen Army had advanced and captured his land in 869…. It is possible that Edmund was killed in battle – but legend has it that he was brutally executed…. After refusing to renounce Christianity he was beaten, then tied to a tree – shot at with arrows and then beheaded…. His head was thrown into the forest – but was later found by those loyal to him and along with his body was buried in a wooden chapel close to where he had died…. He was later moved to a monastery at Beodericsworth, which is now known as Bury St. Edmunds….
Depiction of St. Edmund’s Shrine (destroyed 1539) – Public domain
The monastery, which became his burial place in 903, was reputedly where miracles would happen at the shrine of the Martyr King – and it became a pilgrimage site…. The town grew up around the monastery and Edmund became venerated as a Saint…. By 925 the tale of St. Edmund had spread far and wide – and the name changed to Bury St. Edmunds….
St. Edmund the Martyr crowned by angels – from a manuscript of Bury St. Edmunds circa 1130 – Public domain
On this day in history : 19th November 1911 – Two ships are lost in one day on the notorious sandbank Doom Bar, in the Camel Estuary, Cornwall….
Doom Bar at high water – Image credit : Worm That Turned – own work – CC BY-SA 3.0
Doom Bar, previously known as Dunbar Sands – or Dune-bar – lies at the mouth of the River Camel Estuary where it meets the Celtic Sea off the north coast of Cornwall…. During storms the sands are prone to dramatic shifting, making the narrow channel between Doom Bar and the cliffs at Stepper Point very difficult for ships to navigate…. Until the 20th century this was the only access available to Padstow Harbour…. The channel is regularly dredged by the Padstow Harbour Commission – but despite being made safer the RNLI still has to deal with incidents at Doom Bar….
Tractor and trailer dredging – Image credit : Paul Harvey – CC BY-SA 2.0
Since records began in the early 19th century there have been over 600 reported wrecks, capsizings and beachings…. The largest is believed to have been the 1118 ton barque Antoinette – which sank on New Year’s Day 1895; thankfully all onboard were rescued…. The only warship ever lost on the sands was HMS Whiting, a 12-gun schooner which had been captured from the French in 1812…. The ship had been involved in the pursuit of smugglers when it hit the sandbank…. Following the incident the captain lost a year of his seniority – and three crewmen who deserted after the sinking were later caught and each received 50 lashes….
The two ships to be lost on the 19th of November 1911 were The Island Maid, all of her crew were rescued – and The Angele, who lost her entire crew, except for the captain….
Doom Bar at low tide, river channel on far side – Image credit : Andy F – CC BY-SA 2.0
On this day in history : 18th November 1906 – The birth in Smyrna of Sir Alec Issigonis – who came to Britain in 1922 and after starting work in the motor industry went on to design the Morris Minor and the Mini….
Alec Issigonis photographed at Austin, Longbridge standing next to the very first Mini (left) and a new 1965 Mini (right) – Photo credit : Birmingham Museums Trust CC BY-SA 4.0
Sir Alec was the son of a Greek merchant, who had become a British citizen whilst studying engineering in Britain in 1897…. The family had moved to London during the war between Greece and Turkey…. Alec himself was to study engineering and then joined Morris Motors at Cowley in 1936…. He was also to successfully compete in motor racing….
In 1948 he designed the Morris Minor, which during its production between 1948 – 1971 became the first British car to sell more than a million….
1949 Morris Minor – Image credit : Riley CC BY 2.0Morris Minor II Series – Image credit : Arpingstone – Public domainMorris Minor interior – Image credit : The Car Spy CC BY 2.0
Morris and Austin merged in 1952 to form the British Motor Corporation – and at this point Alec went to work briefly for Alvis Cars…. He returned to BMC in 1955, this time working at the Austin plant, in Longbridge…. Then in 1959 he was asked to design an economical, around town, small car in response to the Suez energy crisis and fuel rationing – it was also aimed at rivalling the popularity of Volkswagen’s Beetle…. Alec’s resulting design was the Mini….
The first 1959 Morris Mini-Minor – Image credit DeFacto own work – CC BY SA 2.51959 Mini interior – Image credit : De Facto – own work CC BY-SA 2.5
Launched as the Morris Mini Minor and Austin Seven the little car soon became known as the Austin Mini – and later just as the Mini…. It was to go on to become Britain’s best ever selling car, 5.3 million were produced in its lifetime…. Alec received his knighthood in 1969…. He officially retired in 1971 but carried on with his work from home until shortly before his death on the 2nd of October 1988….
Production of the Mini ended on the 4th of October 2000 and ownership of the Mini name passed to BMW…. The last ever British Mini, a red Cooper Sport, was presented to the British Motor Industry Heritage Trust….
The last Mini produced, October 2000 – Image credit : Vauxford – own work CC BY-SA 4.0
On this day in history : 17th November 1882 – Walter Maunder, the Royal Astronomer, witnesses an unidentifiable flying object from the Greenwich Observatory….
Walter Maunder – Public domain
Maunder is best remembered for his study of sunspots – but on this particular evening was observing the night-time sky over London…. He was accompanied by some other European astronomers, including John Rand Capron, an amateur scientist, astronomer and photographer…. All were to witness the disc-like object, glowing green, which travelled at a rapid speed across the sky in a north-easterly direction….
Maunder was later to describe the experience in the June 1883 edition of The Observatory publication – of which he was editor…. He referred to the sighting as an ‘auroral beam’ and a ‘strange celestial visitor’…. As there had been intense auroral activity at the time it was assumed the UFO was connected to that…. He never witnessed anything like it again….
Drawing from ‘Philosophical Magazine’, May 1883 – Public domain
However, he wasn’t the first to record such a sighting (and I’m sure he wasn’t the last)…. In 664 a group of nuns saw a strange green light that appeared above Barking and headed over London…. In 764 ‘dragons’ were seen over the UK, including London – and in 1593 a report of a ‘flying dragon surrounded by flame’ was recorded over London…. In 1741 a fireball seen above Kensington by Lord Beauchamp supposedly measured just 8 inches in diameter…. The following year a rocket-like ship was seen by a Fellow of the Royal Society – it apparently ‘stayed around for many minutes’….
On this day in history : 16th November 1960 – The death of outspoken TV personality Gilbert Harding – who died as he was about to get into a taxi outside the BBC’s Broadcasting House….
Gilbert Harding in 1949 – Fair use
Harding was known for his short-temper and rudeness, not least on the panel game What’s My Line…. He was one of the most famous faces on British television during the 1950s and a regular contributor to BBC Radio’s Twenty Questions…. He also appeared in several films, usually as himself….
But there is one particular edition of the BBC series Face to Face in 1960 that will stick in many people’s minds…. When after being questioned by host John Freeman – Harding was reduced to tears…. Freeman asked if Harding had ever been in the presence of a dead person…. Harding’s eyes watered and his voice cracked – and he answered in the affirmative…. However, Freeman missed the point and was unaware that Harding was referring to his mother, whose death he had witnessed in 1954…. The interview continued and Freeman later made a reference to Harding’s mother, assuming she was still very much alive…. Harding immediately contradicted him and Freeman rapidly moved on – although afterwards publicly said that he regretted his method of questioning…. There are those who thought that by emphasising Harding’s closeness to his mother it was in fact a clumsy attempt to draw him out about his homosexuality – which was still illegal at that time…. In the eyes of the British public Harding was a confirmed bachelor resigned to never marrying….
Gilbert Charles Harding had been born in Hereford on the 5th of June 1907…. His parents had been the Master and Matron of the city’s workhouse…. His father was to die in 1911, at the age of just 30, following surgery for appendicitis…. Harding’s mother had little choice but to put her son into the care of the Royal Orphanage of Wolverhampton….
The Royal Wolverhampton School – Image credit Brianboru100 – CC BY-SA 4.0
The orphanage, funded by voluntary subscription, was granted Royal Patronage by Queen Victoria in 1891 – and was dedicated to providing education and care for children who had lost one or both parents…. It was to serve Harding well, as he was able to go on to Queen’s College, Cambridge…. After graduating he was to take teaching jobs in Canada and France, where he taught English…. On his return to England he became a police officer in Bradford before becoming a correspondent for The Times Newspaper in Cyprus…. It was after coming back to the UK in 1936 that he joined the BBC and started his broadcasting career….
Just a few weeks after that infamous Face to Face interview, words that he had said after the programme were to become prophecy…. Harding had admitted that during the interview his bad manners and temper were indefensible…. Excusing himself by saying “I’m profoundly lonely” – and then later adding “I would very much like to be dead”…. Harding was an asthma sufferer…. on the 16th of November, as he left the BBC and prepared to climb into a taxi he collapsed and died from an attack…. He was 53 years old….
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