We have WHEELS! Again I'm navigator and Linda is driving. First stop is FARNHAM for a re-con mission. We wanted to find the start of the North Down Way, get a map for Linda and pick up some hiking snacks. Farnham is a market town, fine for all that, but not exactly charming. Then it was time for Arundel Castle.
I'm of two minds about Arundel. On one hand I know its the real deal, but somehow its restoration - necessary to preserve it - over shadows the genuine building and you cant tell which is what. It looks too "new".Built at the end of the 11th century by Roger de Montgomery, Earl of Arundel whose family still lives there, the oldest feature is the impressive motte ( piling all that dirt with no backhoes!), an artificial mound, over 100 feet high from the dry moat, and constructed in 1068: followed by the gatehouse in 1070. The rest looks like a Disney fabrication. The restoration project was completed in 1900. It was one of the first English country houses to be fitted with electric light, fire fighting equipment, elevators and central heating. The gravity fed domestic water supply also supplied the town. Electricity cost over $120,000 to install,
Unusually, Arundel Castle has descended directly from 1138 to the present day, carried by female heiresses to the well known Howards in the 16th century. It has been the seat of the Dukes of Norfolk and their ancestors for over 850 years. From the 15th to the 17th centuries the Howards were at the forefront of English history, from the Wars of the Roses, through the Tudor period to the Civil War. Among the famous members of the Howard family are the 2nd Duke of Norfolk (1443-1524), the victor of Flodden, Lord Howard of Effingham, who with Sir Francis Drake repelled the Armada in 1588, the Earl of Surrey, the Tudor poet and courtier, and the 3rd Duke of Norfolk (1473-1554), uncle of Anne Boleyn and Catherine Howard, wives of King Henry VIII.
HAHA! Him again!
This is the part the owners live in , Yes, I kid you not. I had to lean over the parapet and stick my arm out to get this picture and could have lost another camera.
Holders of this illustrious pedigree were caught in the political turmoil of medieval and Tudor times. The 'Poet' Earl was executed in 1547 - bad poetry?; his father, the 3rd Duke of Norfolk only escaped the death penalty because King Henry VIII died the night before the execution was due and the 4th Duke was beheaded for plotting to marry Mary Queen of Scots. One of the Dukes was a "collector" and part of the collection includes the rosary beads carried to the scaffold by Mary Queen of Scots, which we didnt see. How come stuff is called hoarding when it isnt worth anything but its a "collection" when it is?
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| Part of the Oldest Henry II Section |
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| Where is the Butthead Tower? Sorry, Couldnt Resist |
This is also part of the living area. Do I see a swimming pool?
They had some hokey displays with mannequins languishing in a dungeon, sleeping, sitting in period clothing. I suppose they felt these things helped hold our attention. Sometimes they had a fake mouse or rat. If there had been sounds and smells it would have started to seem like a Pirates of the Caribbean ride.
They must have had smaller feet, our shoes barely fit on the steps and the heels of our shoes would get scraped. I can just imagine them running up and down or maybe taking as medieval cafeteria tray and taking a ride. The place was so vast it would take an hour to get from one end to another. Lots of cardio which was good because you couldnt have been a lardbutt and fit in these stairways.
The gardens are extensive. They had every plant imaginable. Including blooming palm trees, cork and gingko. I took notes. Lets see... if I start now......
We had to book it to our next destination, the day was passing fast - time for a stop at Jane Austens house in Chawton. Its the only house where Jane lived and wrote which is open to the public as a museum. When she arrived at Chawton she had written three novel drafts - in draft form, Sense and Sensibility, Pride and Prejudice and Northanger Abbey. She may have revised these novels at the house, before getting them published. While in Chawton she wrote Mansfield Park , Emma and Persuasion. She lived here the last 8 years of her life.
The house wasn't much, no castle, no grand manor, except that she lived there. But what else do you need except to stand for a moment in the place where someone who meant so much to literature lived? These authors who have been a part of my life, whose books have helped me through bad times or inspired me, were just people and their homes reflect their world beyond the book. Its the only house where Jane lived and wrote which is open to the public as a museum.
FACTOID: A gold ring belonging to Jane had remained in Austen's family until a 2013 sale at auction. It was bought by American Idol Kelly Clarkson. The Brits placed an export ban on the ring owing to its historic importance, and the museum eventually bought the ring with the help of £100,000 from an anonymous donor, roughly $154K. The ring was placed on display at the museum
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| Jane's Writing Desk |
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| Jane's Bedroom |
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| These Pods Are So Cool, a Type of Grass. Anyone Know? |
By the roadside was once a large pond, which in “sad weather” induced Jane to write dismally in March 1816: “Our Pond is brimful and our roads are dirty and our walls are damp, and we sit wishing every bad day may be the last. However, the days themselves are not dull".
We followed the house with another short warm up walk in her steps from Chawton to Farringdon, about 4 miles of countryside to a small village where her long time friend the Rev Gilbert White had his church. This was a walk she and her sister Cassandra would take often.
We passed the church of St Nicolas in Chawton, another postcard view.
And now a word about Linda's driving. AWESOME. She took to it like a native. Everything England had it threw at her- horses, bikes, single tracks, lane changes, 90mph demons, passing, parking. The girl has major skills - left side, stick shift and all. AND she nailed the roundabouts. Way to go, Linda!
Take a One Minute drive with LINDA!
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