Day Twelve: May 26 - The 1600 Year Old Yew Tree

The English coast in Hastings 

 

Today's adventures include a little William the Conqueror worship and a personal mecca to the English fortified town of Lewes. We have a lot of ground to cover today and so we jump in the car as soon as our new driver George arrives. We attempt to quickly navigate through south London. Then we pick up the motorway toward the southern coast. First stop -Hastings! 



I want this job...but only if I can wear the green shoes, too!

Hastings is where William the Conqueror came ashore in 1066 but this interesting seaside town is now known for its beach-based fishing fleet, the largest in England, and as a tourist destination and beach resort.

The fisherman have dried their nets in these very distinctive tall, wooden "net shops" for hundreds of years. Next stop - Pevensey Castle just a little west of Hastings near the coast in Sussex.

Pevensey Castle is a ruin today that dates to the time of the Norman conquest but there was a fort on the site in Roman times - Anderitum built in the 3rd century. The castle was besieged by William Rufus in the Rebellion of 1088 and during a period of civil war by the forces loyal to King Stephen (1135–1141). Around 1190-1220 the present twin-towered gateway was constructed, making it one

of the earliest known examples of this type. A stone circuit wall was erected around the inner bailey by Peter of Savoy around 1250, with three D-shaped towers. A third siege occurred in 1264, when Henry III's supporters took refuge at the castle following the Battle of Lewes and were besieged by Simon de Montfort. The castle remained in use throughout the Late Middle ages. In 1415, King Henry V sent his hostage king James of Scotland to the castle. Elizabeth I ordered the castle to be destroyed but the order was ignored. I really enjoyed touring the ruins and learning more about its history.

Battle is nine miles inland from Hastings and it is here, on Senlac Hill that Duke William's forces defeated King Harold's army and King Harold was killed. The text panels along the walk at the top of the hill are very effective in describing the fierce battle, the tactics and desperation on both sides.

So serene today

Pope Alexander II ordered the Normans to do penance for killing the king so William ordered an abbey built with the high alter placed where Harold had been mortally wounded. The abbey was destroyed in the 16th century dissolution of the monasteries ordered by Henry VIII. Such a shame! Today the private Battle Abbey School incorporates parts of some of the old abbey structures.

We had Edward-Littleton-Chief-Justice-Marcher-Courts-died-1622 as our northern England quest so, of course, we need a southern England quest and it is on today's schedule - The-1600-Year-Old-Yew-Tree-in-the-Churchyard-of-St.-Mary-and St.-Peter's-Church-in-Wilmington-East-Sussex-England. Fortunately this quest is successful although it took a fair amount of research on my part. Tom had visited the church on an earlier vacation. He knew the story of the yew but had forgotten where the church was so he asked just about everyone he knew where they thought it might be. It seems that when he visited the church was having a service and he could not see inside. You would be surprised how many ancient yew trees there are in England in churchyards! There is even a website www.ancient-yew.org/. Who knew?

George is more than up for the job and Voila! the yew. It really is incredible! It has been scientifically dated to over 1600 years old and has a girth of 23 feet. The presence of the yew may mean that the site had sacred significance to pre-christian people of the region.

The inside of the church is wonderful. Thanks to Tom for persevering! The earliest part of the church dates to the 11th century. Isn't the ceiling great? It is known as "king post" construction. A king post (or crown post) extends vertically from a crossbeam to the apex of a triangular truss. The king post connects the apex of the truss with its base, holding up the tie beam at the base of the truss. King posts were used in roof construction in Medieval architecture in buildings such as parish churches and tithe barns, and also appear in Gothic Revival architecture and Queen Anne architecture.

Bonus! What should we view at the end of the street that the church is on but the chalk figure "The Long Man"! This is one of two extant human hill figures in England. It is 227 feet tall! Little is known about the figure but some archaeological research suggests it dates to the 16th or 17th centuries.

And, finally, Lewes! My parents have a print of a pen and ink sketch of Lewes in our Lewes, DE beach house. I have always thought how wonderful it would be to see the English Lewes.

It was built in 1069 by William de Warenne, 1st Earl of Surrey, the brother-in-law of William the Conqueror. William de Warenne II was the second husband of my ancestress, Isabelle de Vermandois. It certainly would be fun to have a direct line to a former owner of Lewes in the 11th-12th century! William de Warenne and his descendants also had estates and built castles in Reigate, Surrey and in Yorkshire (Sandal Castle and Conisbrough Castle). When the last of the Warennes, John, the 7th Earl, died without issue in 1347, he was buried in Lewes Priory. His title passed to his nephew Richard Fitzalan who was also Earl of Arundel. More about the Earls of Arundel tomorrow.

Tom stayed in the car but I made it to the top and what a view. The castle sits on the highest point in the town and the view is commanding!

View from the top of the tower

It has been a long but fantastic day. Time to head back to London. One more day of touring and then home. How lucky am I to be able to check another Bucket List item off??!!!!