Sunday 29 October 2017

Treasures, Tales And Secrets

There's a fiendishly difficult quiz on Radio 4 called Round Britain Quiz in which teams of very clever people attempt to unravel multi-part cryptic clues. Questions like:

Q "Where might you go to remember a parson who collected wood from Flanders, a one-legged poet, the most beautiful woman in England a hundred years ago, and the friend of a boy who never grew old?"
A Why, the church at Cockayne Hatley, of course.


How so?

The church of St John the Baptist is a handsome looking building for a village church, but its location, tucked away down a rough farm track in a small isolated village, doesn't hold much hope of grand things hidden within. If I hadn't done a little research I might have turned away once I found it locked. But there was a sign telling me where to obtain the key, so off I pedalled back down the lane.


Armed with the key and the instructions to insert it upside down and turn it "the wrong way" I was soon inside what was obviously an unusual church. 


The village gets its odd name from the Cockayne family who were lords of the manor here for over 500 years. In 1806 the Rev Henry Cockayne Cust became both the squire and the parson for the village. Celebrating his first Christmas in the church he was shocked to find snow falling through the holes in the roof and settling on the altar. He vowed to restore the church to its former glory.


Now at the very time when Rev Cust was shopping for fittings for his church it so happened that churches and monasteries in Flanders, in the wake of the destruction caused by Napoleon's army, were ready to sell. I think it's safe to say that the dear Reverend got rather carried away with his purchases and bought more beautiful carved wood than he had room for.


As a result the choir stalls overflowed the chancel and had to be arranged in the nave as well. Eventually he somehow fitted everything in, though the huge pulpit he acquired had to be sold to a cathedral!


The quality and quantity of the carving is astonishing, most notably the panels behind the choir stalls in the chancel. These are the sensational 17th century ‘papal’ stalls from the Abbey of Oignies, in what is present-day Belgium, carved with the faces of various saints. The one in the centre above is St Gregorius, who held the office of Pope till his death in 604AD. It's surely the only representation of a Pope in an Anglican church!

So that's answered the first part of the question. For the second part we need to go outside.


In the churchyard stands this monument to W E Henley, a poet and friend of Rev H Cockayne Cust's dashing grandson, Harry. Henley, regarded as a great poet in his day, is chiefly remembered today for his poem Invictus which he wrote while a patient in hospital, thinking back to an earlier hospitalisation when tuberculosis of the bone resulted in the amputation of his leg. So there's our one-legged poet.

The poem Invictus crops up nowadays in the film of the same name, directed by Clint Eastwood and starring Morgan Freeman as Nelson Mandela. Also it is an inspiration for the Invictus Games for wounded, sick or injured servicemen.

Robert Louis Stevenson was a friend of Henley and used his disability, his bushy red beard and booming laugh as the inspiration for Long John Silver.


Back in the church one can see the details of the Baptism of Lady Diana Manners (later Lady Diana Cooper) who lived the early years of her life at the Hall at Cockayne Hatley. Although her father is listed as the Duke of Rutland everyone knew who the real father was - none other than the Rev Cockayne Cust's grandson Harry.


So that's the most beautiful woman in England a hundred years ago. Apparently the Hall was rented by the Duke of Rutland.....surely it can't be mere coincidence, was the old Duke just making it clear to everyone that he knew exactly where his daughter belonged?

It is believed that handsome Harry Cust spread his DNA liberally among the British aristocracy, probably improving their looks as a result! He didn't confine himself to the higher echelons of society either. He was almost certainly lingered long enough among the housemaids to father one Beatrice Stephenson who went on to marry a Lincolnshire grocer and become the mother of Margaret Thatcher!


You've probably worked out that the boy who never grew old was Peter Pan and his friend was Wendy. Our one-legged poet W E Henley was also a friend of J M Barrie, author of Peter Pan. More relevantly, Barrie was charmed by Henley's little daughter Margaret who referred to Barrie as her "fwiend" or her "fwiendy-wendy" and is said to be the inspiration for both the name and the character of Wendy. Margaret died tragically young and is remembered on the same memorial as her father.

So we've answered our question and, once again, found that there's more to discover in a little hidden part of the English landscape than most people would imagine.


Take care.



16 comments:

  1. I wonder if there are any people in the world who love a puzzle more than the British. Fun to see how this one is worked out with all its interesting bits of unusual history.

    ReplyDelete
  2. I had no hope of answering the quiz, John, but I enjoyed the tour and the history.

    ReplyDelete
  3. John, your adventures are interesting and so informative. I enjoyed this one as I do all of them!

    ReplyDelete
  4. The Rev. Cust certainly did a fine job of restoration and selecting carvings. Interesting how all the clues of the puzzle fit together. Kudos to you for solving the clues.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Well that was a challenging cryptic quizz! I think I'd flunk it. But that's some amazing wood carving.

    ReplyDelete
  6. My word! A lot of information all in one little church. And you know, John, there is a Cockayne Farmstead Museum here in West Virginia. I just passed it today. My friend Tom Tarowsky was very involved in the restoration of the house and grounds. Has to be connected to the same family, I would think. http://www.cockaynefarmstead.com/

    ReplyDelete
  7. You are extremely knowledgeable, John, - or else you've been indulging in village gossip on your travels...

    ReplyDelete
  8. Love those wood carvings! What interesting stories.

    ReplyDelete
  9. I'm glad you went to collect that key, John. What an interesting story, and the wood carving is beautiful.

    ReplyDelete
  10. Hi John - I know I'd have flunked the quiz ... but I enjoy trying and now I might remember one or two points from this excellent post. Brilliant photos too - that panelling is amazing ... workmanship of yore is so well done. I'm glad you bicycled back for the key ... England at its best ... in more ways than one. Fascinating - cheers Hilary

    ReplyDelete
  11. I'm not bad at Brain of Britain, or the music quiz. Quote Unquote is impossible though!

    ReplyDelete
  12. Another grand journey and a wonderful quiz to inspire you to take it. Truly so interesting all the little connections here. Love it!

    ReplyDelete
  13. What a revelation in this quiet little country church!
    The wood carvings are quite amazing!
    Thanks for unlocking not just the door but so much history & even a connection with Margaret Thatcher!

    ReplyDelete
  14. I love quizzes but only guessed Peter Pan, but no connection. A lovely post John, bet you're glad you went for the key, I like the quirky way of using it !!

    ReplyDelete
  15. Wow, an incredible story, John. You went for the key and it was actually there, I was surprised but glad it was. Such wonderful bits of history. Thanks for sharing, I enjoyed it very much.

    ReplyDelete
  16. So much history included in this post. I love the tumble-down church. thank-you

    ReplyDelete

Thanks for taking the time to comment. I'll try to answer any questions via a comment or e-mail within the next day or two (no hard questions, please!).