We arrived in England after a good flight on Royal Brunei. We had stopped in Dubai for a couple of hours and passed through security twice in that time, how ridiculous can it get. Coming into to Heathrow we did a long curve over central London, quite low, so that we got a reasonable view of the central area, places like London Eye, Tower Bridge and the Tower of London, Westminster Abby and the Houses of Parliament. It was very grey and wet looking.
Took me about 45 mins to pass through immigration but when I reached the carousals the luggage had not yet started to arrive. After we had passed through customs I spent ages looking for an ATM as all those in the arrivals hall were out of action. After an extensive walk I finally found one in the Arrivals hall thank goodness. Nothing like arriving in a place and then not being able to get any money:
We picked up our hire car and set out for Arundel. The weather had improved since our arrival two hours earlier. Now there were patches of blue sky and the road was dry. No much traffic on the M25 so we made good time round that and even when we got onto the A24 heading south there wasn’t heavy traffic, not like there normally is on a summer Sunday. The grass is just so green and lush, the trees heavy with their summer foliage, bright yellow daisies and white flowering cow parsley can be seen in all the fields and along the roadsides, I just love to feast my eyes upon it. Brightly coloured summer flowers can be seen in most gardens and lots of places have hanging baskets and window boxes full of colour. There was some water lying about but this area had not had the flooding rains that had created such havoc in Gloustershire and thereabouts.
We called in to see Margaret and Norman Brasington on our way through. Margaret is David’s cousin. Over a cup of tea we found out what had been happening hereabouts since our last visit 10 months ago. Its always lovely to see this couple, they have been really good to us over the years.
Heather made us very welcome when we arrived in Arundel by which time there was just a few fluffy white clouds in an otherwise bright blue sky and the day was very warm. Heather is the widow of David’s’ long time friend John, we stayed with them last year for quite a while. Sadly John died last December; we all miss him very much. Heather is one of the very first people I met when I first arrived in Arundel in 1970.
I can’t say that we are actually doing very much since we got here. Some days have been overcast with some drizzle whilst we have had one hot sunny day. Today, as I sit and write this it really can’t make up its mind what it wants to do, the weather that is: It’s overcast and threatening to rain and dam cold. The wind is now blowing strongly too.
Yesterday we visited Fishbourne to see the remains of the Roman Palace that has been found there. It was accidently discovered in 1960 when a drainage trench for a new housing estate was being dug. The palace dates from 75AD some 32 years after the Roman invasion of 43AD. A military base had been built on the site first probably immediately after the Roman invasion. It is even possible that one part of the invading forces landed here as it is known that they landed further west than the main force that landed in Kent. The base was then replaced with this palace. It consisted of 4 large buildings built around a large quadrangle with gardens, lawns and hedges in the middle. It didn’t have a long life as it was destroyed by fire around 270AD at a time when furnaces were being built and ducts dug for underfloor heating. Perhaps it was some accident arising from this installation that caused the fire. It is such a shame as it must have been a beautiful place.
The south wing faced the sea and was the main entrance to the whole complex. A very large area of lawns and gardens separated it from the north wing directly behind. Much of that garden area and all the south wing is now buried under the houses and gardens of the residents of Fishbourne. The sea is not quite in the same place as it was 2000 years ago, it is now further away: The remains of the buildings on the two long sides of the quadrangle have been dug up, artefacts recovered and mosaic floors studied then covered over again and are now lawns. The hedges have been replanted in the same place and pattern that they were laid out in originally. This was able to be done because the original gardeners had dug trenches and filled them with different soil, that suitable for growing a Box hedge, the most usual plant for such purposes in Roman times. In fact there is a whole garden area where the types of plants that these people would have been growing are growing. Figs and grapes, a whole range of herbs and a bay tree are about all I can remember. An interesting thing I read stated that the climate 2000 years ago was much warmer than it is today. Now what caused that, did the Romans have global warming, or do we blame it getting colder on continental drift. I would love to hear some of our so called experts today try and explain that.
It is the north wing that is now covered with a permanent building and walkways constructed so that the public can have a good view without causing any damage. There are also plenty of signs explaining just what we are looking at. When the palace was first built the floors were laid with simple geometric, black and white mosaic designs, but at a later date much more elaborate designs were laid over the top. Coloured mosaic tiles laid in lovely designs, the most famous being the cupid on a dolphin mosaic. This mosaic was laid in a room that was probably a dining room. The Medusa is featured in another but it is not easy to see as much of it has been destroyed. Wine glasses and vines and birds have been incorporated in the borders. The colours can still be seen. Some places subsidence has made the floor very uneven but perhaps because the tiles are so small they have not come loose and they look just as a carpet would over such a floor. You can even see where some floors had been repaired using just a pink tile.
One room with a lovely mosaic floor had been converted into a blacksmith’s workshop, on another the workmen had been mixing plaster and other materials probably for the heating ducts that were being installed under the floor of an adjoining room.
The walls were made of a brick then plastered over and painted. I wonder what the ceilings would have been like. The roof was tile. Much of this construction material has been carted off and used in other constructions over the intervening centuries, though the land over the top of the ruined palace was first used for agriculture then later for grazing sheep. Just how the ruined palace come to be covered in enough dirt to plant crops I have no idea, perhaps it was several hundred years before such activities begun.
This north wing had a very imposing entry too with a row of columns, pieces of both Corinth and Tuscan columns were on display. These are both distinguished by the style and type of carving or relief at the top of the column. A three dimensional model of what the whole place is supposed to have looked like was on display. Such a model does help to put things in perspective.
The most important resident of this palace seems to have been the client King Togidubnus. I have absolutely no idea what a client king is, but I suspect that he was subservient to Rome but King and ruler in his own area.
Just outside one of the wings of this palace a large defensive trench has been found. It has given archaeologists quite a puzzle. It predates the palace and the Roman invasion but cannot be dated accurately. At some point it has been back filled in two stages, with material that is Roman in origin on top layer, but dates from about 30AD. From this it has been deduced that the tribal ruler here had contact with Rome before the invasion. The lowest layer of back fill is 50BC or more, which means that the trench is older still. Another puzzle is that it’s not obvious just which side of this trench is the defensive side. With most trenches this is quite easy to tell but not with this one.
We also got a guided tour of the recently opened Collectors Discovery Centre, a fancy name for a museum and research rooms. Here we got to see some academic fellow who has been studying the bones of the Saxons and he has come to the conclusion that the men averaged 6ft (1.8) in height. Research has also been done on some fellow deer bones that were uncovered here. It had always been believed that the fellow deer were introduced into England by the Normans, but this skeleton has proved otherwise. This particular beast had been born in Italy but had also lived in England. No doubt it was not the only deer to do so. In one room 7000 boxes of artefacts are stored, 3000 from this site, and here we were all told to gather round the table and we were given a few pieces of pottery from early Iron Age to 12h Century to hold and feel and study. The oldest things we got to handle and have a really good look at were a couple of Stone Age flint axes. They were much heavier than I expected.
For more info in this place go to: www.sussexpast.co.uk
Here we also saw an old roman loom used for weaving wool and linen. The fabric is quite coarsely woven but it would have been a very serviceable material.
After we had spent several hours here we headed off to the small but picturesque village of Bosham. This little village right on the coast where the high tide often floods the streets and lanes and low tide provides much need large parking spaces, as long as you remember that you must rescue your car before the tide comes in. One of its main claim to fame is because this is where King Canute tried to hold back the sea. Apparently he did this not because of some misguided belief that he really could but to prove that he could not.
In the drizzling rain we drove around and came to the church, the Church of the Holey Trinity, the oldest church in Sussex. This church is featured on the Bayeux tapestry:
It is another lovely old stone church. Very cold inside on this dreary summers afternoon: We took time to have a look around. On this site a Roman Basilica once stood. The current church dates from about the 10th century, but has been added to in bits and pieces of the centuries. The chancel was added later, and the aisles, the crypt in the 13th century. The square tower is Saxon built but the top story of it was added by the Normans. Around the door jams there are several crosses carved into the wood; these were done by returning crusaders in the 13th century (I think). Under the floor are two stone coffins, one of a man and the other of a child of about 8 years. It is believed that she was King Canute’s daughter. He did have a home at Bosham.
We have visited a couple of other churches around the area since we arrived. One is the small church at Wigganholt, Heather’s husband John is buried here. It sits on a rise overlooking lush green fields and the Arun River: There are only a few graves in the churchyard and it looks very overgrown, but that is by design, not neglect. If the grass is just left the wild flowers in the spring flower profusely then have a chance to flower and propagate. In autumn the grass is tidied up before winter. Heather tells us that in spring the wild flowers are absolutely beautiful. The church was locked so we couldn’t see inside.
We also visited the church at Sullington; it is not far from where David lived in Storrington. This is also an old Saxon church too. There is even a crusaders tomb here topped with an effigy of a crusader. It also has some lovely stained glass windows. In the churchyard there are a number of Yew trees. One is about 1000 years old and there is a young one planted in 2000 that was a cutting from a 2000 year old tree. The tower, the roof and the yew trees were all very badly damaged in the devastating hurricanes in 1987 or 89 which ever year they happened.
Most days I go for a walk along the river. Some of the tracks are quite muddy where the cows have churned them up. There are lots of swans on the river; I counted 15 by the bridge today but have not seen one cygnet this year. Usually there are plenty to be seen at this time of year.
© Lynette Regan 27th July 2007
Took me about 45 mins to pass through immigration but when I reached the carousals the luggage had not yet started to arrive. After we had passed through customs I spent ages looking for an ATM as all those in the arrivals hall were out of action. After an extensive walk I finally found one in the Arrivals hall thank goodness. Nothing like arriving in a place and then not being able to get any money:
We picked up our hire car and set out for Arundel. The weather had improved since our arrival two hours earlier. Now there were patches of blue sky and the road was dry. No much traffic on the M25 so we made good time round that and even when we got onto the A24 heading south there wasn’t heavy traffic, not like there normally is on a summer Sunday. The grass is just so green and lush, the trees heavy with their summer foliage, bright yellow daisies and white flowering cow parsley can be seen in all the fields and along the roadsides, I just love to feast my eyes upon it. Brightly coloured summer flowers can be seen in most gardens and lots of places have hanging baskets and window boxes full of colour. There was some water lying about but this area had not had the flooding rains that had created such havoc in Gloustershire and thereabouts.
We called in to see Margaret and Norman Brasington on our way through. Margaret is David’s cousin. Over a cup of tea we found out what had been happening hereabouts since our last visit 10 months ago. Its always lovely to see this couple, they have been really good to us over the years.
Heather made us very welcome when we arrived in Arundel by which time there was just a few fluffy white clouds in an otherwise bright blue sky and the day was very warm. Heather is the widow of David’s’ long time friend John, we stayed with them last year for quite a while. Sadly John died last December; we all miss him very much. Heather is one of the very first people I met when I first arrived in Arundel in 1970.
I can’t say that we are actually doing very much since we got here. Some days have been overcast with some drizzle whilst we have had one hot sunny day. Today, as I sit and write this it really can’t make up its mind what it wants to do, the weather that is: It’s overcast and threatening to rain and dam cold. The wind is now blowing strongly too.
Yesterday we visited Fishbourne to see the remains of the Roman Palace that has been found there. It was accidently discovered in 1960 when a drainage trench for a new housing estate was being dug. The palace dates from 75AD some 32 years after the Roman invasion of 43AD. A military base had been built on the site first probably immediately after the Roman invasion. It is even possible that one part of the invading forces landed here as it is known that they landed further west than the main force that landed in Kent. The base was then replaced with this palace. It consisted of 4 large buildings built around a large quadrangle with gardens, lawns and hedges in the middle. It didn’t have a long life as it was destroyed by fire around 270AD at a time when furnaces were being built and ducts dug for underfloor heating. Perhaps it was some accident arising from this installation that caused the fire. It is such a shame as it must have been a beautiful place.
The south wing faced the sea and was the main entrance to the whole complex. A very large area of lawns and gardens separated it from the north wing directly behind. Much of that garden area and all the south wing is now buried under the houses and gardens of the residents of Fishbourne. The sea is not quite in the same place as it was 2000 years ago, it is now further away: The remains of the buildings on the two long sides of the quadrangle have been dug up, artefacts recovered and mosaic floors studied then covered over again and are now lawns. The hedges have been replanted in the same place and pattern that they were laid out in originally. This was able to be done because the original gardeners had dug trenches and filled them with different soil, that suitable for growing a Box hedge, the most usual plant for such purposes in Roman times. In fact there is a whole garden area where the types of plants that these people would have been growing are growing. Figs and grapes, a whole range of herbs and a bay tree are about all I can remember. An interesting thing I read stated that the climate 2000 years ago was much warmer than it is today. Now what caused that, did the Romans have global warming, or do we blame it getting colder on continental drift. I would love to hear some of our so called experts today try and explain that.
It is the north wing that is now covered with a permanent building and walkways constructed so that the public can have a good view without causing any damage. There are also plenty of signs explaining just what we are looking at. When the palace was first built the floors were laid with simple geometric, black and white mosaic designs, but at a later date much more elaborate designs were laid over the top. Coloured mosaic tiles laid in lovely designs, the most famous being the cupid on a dolphin mosaic. This mosaic was laid in a room that was probably a dining room. The Medusa is featured in another but it is not easy to see as much of it has been destroyed. Wine glasses and vines and birds have been incorporated in the borders. The colours can still be seen. Some places subsidence has made the floor very uneven but perhaps because the tiles are so small they have not come loose and they look just as a carpet would over such a floor. You can even see where some floors had been repaired using just a pink tile.
One room with a lovely mosaic floor had been converted into a blacksmith’s workshop, on another the workmen had been mixing plaster and other materials probably for the heating ducts that were being installed under the floor of an adjoining room.
The walls were made of a brick then plastered over and painted. I wonder what the ceilings would have been like. The roof was tile. Much of this construction material has been carted off and used in other constructions over the intervening centuries, though the land over the top of the ruined palace was first used for agriculture then later for grazing sheep. Just how the ruined palace come to be covered in enough dirt to plant crops I have no idea, perhaps it was several hundred years before such activities begun.
This north wing had a very imposing entry too with a row of columns, pieces of both Corinth and Tuscan columns were on display. These are both distinguished by the style and type of carving or relief at the top of the column. A three dimensional model of what the whole place is supposed to have looked like was on display. Such a model does help to put things in perspective.
The most important resident of this palace seems to have been the client King Togidubnus. I have absolutely no idea what a client king is, but I suspect that he was subservient to Rome but King and ruler in his own area.
Just outside one of the wings of this palace a large defensive trench has been found. It has given archaeologists quite a puzzle. It predates the palace and the Roman invasion but cannot be dated accurately. At some point it has been back filled in two stages, with material that is Roman in origin on top layer, but dates from about 30AD. From this it has been deduced that the tribal ruler here had contact with Rome before the invasion. The lowest layer of back fill is 50BC or more, which means that the trench is older still. Another puzzle is that it’s not obvious just which side of this trench is the defensive side. With most trenches this is quite easy to tell but not with this one.
We also got a guided tour of the recently opened Collectors Discovery Centre, a fancy name for a museum and research rooms. Here we got to see some academic fellow who has been studying the bones of the Saxons and he has come to the conclusion that the men averaged 6ft (1.8) in height. Research has also been done on some fellow deer bones that were uncovered here. It had always been believed that the fellow deer were introduced into England by the Normans, but this skeleton has proved otherwise. This particular beast had been born in Italy but had also lived in England. No doubt it was not the only deer to do so. In one room 7000 boxes of artefacts are stored, 3000 from this site, and here we were all told to gather round the table and we were given a few pieces of pottery from early Iron Age to 12h Century to hold and feel and study. The oldest things we got to handle and have a really good look at were a couple of Stone Age flint axes. They were much heavier than I expected.
For more info in this place go to: www.sussexpast.co.uk
Here we also saw an old roman loom used for weaving wool and linen. The fabric is quite coarsely woven but it would have been a very serviceable material.
After we had spent several hours here we headed off to the small but picturesque village of Bosham. This little village right on the coast where the high tide often floods the streets and lanes and low tide provides much need large parking spaces, as long as you remember that you must rescue your car before the tide comes in. One of its main claim to fame is because this is where King Canute tried to hold back the sea. Apparently he did this not because of some misguided belief that he really could but to prove that he could not.
In the drizzling rain we drove around and came to the church, the Church of the Holey Trinity, the oldest church in Sussex. This church is featured on the Bayeux tapestry:
It is another lovely old stone church. Very cold inside on this dreary summers afternoon: We took time to have a look around. On this site a Roman Basilica once stood. The current church dates from about the 10th century, but has been added to in bits and pieces of the centuries. The chancel was added later, and the aisles, the crypt in the 13th century. The square tower is Saxon built but the top story of it was added by the Normans. Around the door jams there are several crosses carved into the wood; these were done by returning crusaders in the 13th century (I think). Under the floor are two stone coffins, one of a man and the other of a child of about 8 years. It is believed that she was King Canute’s daughter. He did have a home at Bosham.
We have visited a couple of other churches around the area since we arrived. One is the small church at Wigganholt, Heather’s husband John is buried here. It sits on a rise overlooking lush green fields and the Arun River: There are only a few graves in the churchyard and it looks very overgrown, but that is by design, not neglect. If the grass is just left the wild flowers in the spring flower profusely then have a chance to flower and propagate. In autumn the grass is tidied up before winter. Heather tells us that in spring the wild flowers are absolutely beautiful. The church was locked so we couldn’t see inside.
We also visited the church at Sullington; it is not far from where David lived in Storrington. This is also an old Saxon church too. There is even a crusaders tomb here topped with an effigy of a crusader. It also has some lovely stained glass windows. In the churchyard there are a number of Yew trees. One is about 1000 years old and there is a young one planted in 2000 that was a cutting from a 2000 year old tree. The tower, the roof and the yew trees were all very badly damaged in the devastating hurricanes in 1987 or 89 which ever year they happened.
Most days I go for a walk along the river. Some of the tracks are quite muddy where the cows have churned them up. There are lots of swans on the river; I counted 15 by the bridge today but have not seen one cygnet this year. Usually there are plenty to be seen at this time of year.
© Lynette Regan 27th July 2007
No comments:
Post a Comment