Desperate to try out my new, second hand camera my boyfriend and I laced up our walking boots, pulled on our thermals and drove to our nearest henge to take photos. And yes, we do genuinely have a local Henge. Welcome to the English countryside.
Avebury henge was built 6000 years ago, making the Collesium seem almost modern. The Henge consists of large stones in a circular fashion, made by Pagans and largely left untouched for all these years (with the exception of when someone rudely toppled them over and buried them, luckily still in their original positions). Although the Henge might not have the curving arches or dome shaped walls of the Collesium and may not look quite as impressive, these stone are still a magestic sight.
Although weaving between the old stones and snapping pictures of pretty landscapes and unsuspecting sheep was fun, my real highlight of the trip would be the manor and I’d definitely recommend the visit.
I didn’t manage to snap a picture of the manor, sadly, although it looked very impressive, because at this point in the trip I accidentally switched the camera into a mode that doesn’t take photos. I’m not wholly convinced it’s the most useful mode my new camera has, but oh well. After much playing and googling we did manage to fix the camera in the manor’s garden and snapped some pictures of the back of the house.
The house itself had been recently refurbished in a project to show its history. You could wonder through a different age in every room: the dinning room was Tudor, the sitting room was set in World War Two, the kitchen was 1912, complete with genuine newspapers showing the Titanic sinking. Each room described the manor’s occupants at that time and told the tales of their lives.
My favourite manor occupant was Deborah Moody (originally Dunch). Outliving her husband she moved to the states because of her religious beliefs to start a community where religious freedom would be allowed providing it wasn’t breaking any laws. Having been described as a ‘dangerous woman’ back in the UK she became the first female land owner in the New World. She built a small community called Gravesend which is now apart of Brooklyn, New York. It was very cool reading her story in the bedroom where she grew up, furnished to look like her home.
My second favourite room in the manor would be the kitchen, set in the time of 1912. Here the story of the six ‘live in’ servants was described based on the information provided by a census. At this time their was a tax of 15 shillings on male servants but not women so female servants were preferable. Alongside the couple who owned the manor these six women would live in house and the using the census data and other information gleaned from their jobs, their story was told. It was a lot of fun peering into their lives and really brought the scene to life.
Lets Compare Notes
So there you have it. A small break from books to share with you a small adventure I had this weekend. What did you do this weekend? Have you ever been to a Henge? Did you enjoy my post? Would love to hear your thoughts in the comments section.
Books, Life and Other Oddities 