Tucked away on a side wall in the Medieval Galleries in the behemoth that is the British Museum, hang the enchanting Tring Tiles. Remarkable then, that despite such an immense archive spanning thousands of years, these eight tiles have been on a world tour and are now on permanent display.
The history of the Tring Tiles is so terribly brief, as not much is known about them, not even whether they were made in England, or in France.
They have been described as a ceramic religious comic strip of the life of a young Christ, almost like a 14th century Springfield cartoon. The yellow characters tell apocryphal tales about the childhood of Christ in a raw comic strip full of odd and unfamiliar images; Christ killing a school mate who has annoyed him, in another scene, a man dies because he spoilt a pool that Jesus made and he is brought back to life and simply walks away! I don’t recall being told these stories as a child.
Fashions come and go, and that extends to things ecclesiastical. During an early 18th century make-over of the Tring Parish Church of St. Peter & St. Paul, the tiles were covered up and then stripped out in the early 1880’s, only to be offered for sale in the Dickensian-sounding local Curiosity Shop. The owner refused to say how he came by them. Happy to sell them on however, to a Rev Owen, who upon his death in Chelmsford in 1922, the tiles were disposed off amongst his personal and household items. They were bought by an antiques dealer for £17, and he sold them to the British Museum.
So much could have gone wrong through all of these transactions! And then another two tiles turned up in Tring and were gifted to the V&A. Will any more turn up one day…I hope the residents of Tring are thoroughly examining their cellars and garden walls.
Although not a common English method, I like to think they could have been made in the nearby Penn potteries, an important centre for decorative tiles that were destined for great houses and buildings across London and the South East.
Just like the Holy Trinity Penn ‘Doom’ painting that was very nearly lost if it weren’t for the rain, so too would these remarkable treasures have also been lost. Thank goodness for eagle-eyed folk and purveyors of all things curious!
“Eight tiles of lead-glazed red earthenware with decoration representing incidents from the apocryphal accounts of the infancy of Christ. Executed by scratching through and cutting away a white slip under a yellow clear glaze.’ British Museum Artist: unknown Maker: unknown Origin: England. or France Made: late Medieval, circa 13th centurySaint Peter & Saint Paul Tring
Further ideas on things to visit and places to explore in Tring
Itching to get away from my desk and take a walk to enjoy a warm autumnal afternoon, it was a tweet that spurred me into action to head over to Cliveden Reach, between Cookham and Boulter’s locks, the fabled stretch along the River Thames.
..”unbroken lovelines, this is, perhaps the sweetest stretch of all the river Thames.”
Three Men in a Boat, Jerome K. Jerome.
I have visited the formal gardens at Cliveden, but that is only a small part of the vast 375-acre estate on the banks of the River Thames. I struck out from the Woodland car park and was soon enjoying the magnificent lime-treed avenue that leads to Cliveden House, an ornate mansion that crowns an outlying Chilterns ridge by the hilltop village of Taplow, near the busy market town of Marlow. 40 metres above the river, Cliveden means “valley among cliffs” and refers to the dene (valley) which cuts through part of the estate, east of the house. The site has been home to an earl, three countesses, two dukes, a Prince of Wales and the Viscounts Astor. And a particular scandal.
Lime tree avenue
A Peaceful Woodland
The woodlands were first laid out by Lord Orkney in the eighteenth century on what had been barren cliff-top; they were later much restocked by Bill Astor but suffered badly in the Great Storm of 1987, the same year a section of a California redwood was installed in the woods. At a modest 5.03 m across, it is the largest section of a Sequoia gigantea in the country.
The woodland is quiet, with paths leading off into the trees so I headed downhill towards the river along a steep footpath that had seen much use and repair over the years. I had to stop to enjoy the expansive views across the river to Berkshire, opening up each week as the leaf cover falls away.
Looking west towards Berkshire
The river is busy with geese, swans, ducks and all manner of little birds, darting about in the foliage, the riverside path shady with overhanging trees, leaves drifting into the soft river mud.
A sweeping staircase down to the River
The Profumo Affair
I passed the infamous Spring cottage, awarded Grade ll listed status in 1986 and in 1997 the hotel company which leased Cliveden House from the National Trust also acquired the lease to the cottage. A small fortune was spent restoring and refurbishing the dilapidated building before it reopened in 1998 as a self-contained luxury let. Luxurious it may be, but it is hardly private with the path passing within feet of the building, hampers and cottage life visible through the windows. One of four structures that was built in 1813, it saw many uses by the family and their guests, until in 1957, the cottage was leased by Stephen Ward for use as a weekend retreat and party house. Christine Keeler and Mandy Rice-Davis stayed here, with a chance encounter in 1961 between Christine Keeler and John Profumo at the now infamous Cliveden swimming pool, led to the so-called Profumo Affair that almost brought down a government.
A Cottage Affair
The path then opens up onto a sunny riverside lawn, with another cottage, boathouse, small jetty and 171 steps up to the Parterre in front of the house. No dogs allowed! I don’t mind, it’s more informal here, in fact a good place to spread out and relax on the lawn. The Victorian boathouse has undergone extensive repairs, and you can see recorded on the brick wall a the entrance, historical flood levels. Choose to cool off in the river, on the Thames or alongside.
Shady trees along the river bank
If it hadn’t been for this couple quietly enjoying the sweetest Thames view from their bench, I would have missed the best view of all!
The bench with such a beautiful view
Further Information
Visit the beautiful Rose Garden at Cliveden, although I expect it’s much changed from when I visited.
Autumn is my favourite time in the Chilterns, here are my suggestions for other places to explore in the Chilterns.
Messing about alongside or on the River Thames is a delight.
Beneath a full moon, a pink mist tumbles and rolls, blanketing the contours, icy grass and spectral trees.
The chalk track is greasy and slick underfoot, catching the unwary walker. The early morning autumn sun is very low and shining straight into my face so I can’t see what’s ahead; camouflaged dog turds amongst the decaying, but still colourful leaf mush underfoot. What a transition this is; full of surprises, unexpected warmth, indecision, heart-stopping vistas, big weather, colours, smells and rapid change.
Berries looking bright, exposed bramble thorns sharp and strong, contrast with the limp leaves left clinging before the next autumnal storm barrels on through. The leaf canopy begins to open up the landscape, earthworks, structures and forms hidden over the summer, emerge once again. Smears of decaying russet lie beneath the bare trees.
The wind alternates between still-warm southerlies to a sharp poke in the ribs when gusting from the north. This temperature jolt, necessitates wardrobe changes from the open-toed to the practical and waterproof; we will all look the same for the next six months. Told apart by our dogs perhaps?
Autumn offers up the landscape to winter, mists, and wisps of soft cloud contrasts with the hard shapes emerging. Overhead, the vapour trails become visible as the temperature drops. The number of red or blue-tupped sheep on the hills has increased, as does the wet slurry of their daily routine sloped onto the paths and animal tracks. Rutting deer on the move.
The sun still feels warm – just, but if you walk through a dip, it can get noticeably very cold. Puddles of icy water already formed, but too thin to bother cracking with my boot.
The early bird gets the sunrise
Waves of noisy geese, sometimes so low I can hear the beat of their wings, flying east to west and back again every morning at dawn and then at sunset (sometimes by the light of the full moon), their scraggly formations getting larger and neater as their departure date gets closer. Heading off to somewhere warmer than here. Winter visitors have arrived; waxwings, redwings, bramblings and fieldfares.
In the low light I notice for the first time, countless silk threads attached to individual blades of grass, the juvenile spiders long blown away in the wind. Across the heath, illuminated by car lights and flashing dog collars, the chill and early darkness set in.
I love the rain, but as the water-soaked overhanging branches slapped the car roof, I edged alone Mop End Lane, wishing I’d left earlier. I couldn’t be late for the guided tour of Penn House conducted by Earl and Countess Howe no less. Prior booking essential!
A pair of wooden panels salvaged from the Nile were brought home to grace the entrance.
Penn House is a typical red-brick Chilterns manor house; not usually open to the public, located down winding lanes leading to somewhere you are not entirely sure where, and bound to be full of surprises. Today all three conditions were fulfilled, and because the rain slowed my progress, I fortunately spotted two large misshapen wooden gates, sagging sadly across a gap in the boundary wall. I knew I was in a for treat, the sort of treat that only the Chilterns can provide.
Heritage Open Days
Every year in September, Heritage Open Days encourages thousands of venues up and down the land to throw open their doors so visitors can inspect spaces and objects normally kept from view, or to enjoy a guided tour from passionate locals, all for free.
It was apparent early on into this very personal tour, that Earl Howe had spent many happy hours learning more about the contents of the house and the links they represent to him and his family. By his own admission, the present house itself is ‘nothing special’: dating from 1760, and having undergone extensive re-building and enlarging since the former Tudor house was pulled down in the 16th century. Very little remains apart from a staircase and the roundel with the confusing date of 1536 that sits on the recent facade.
Penn or Penn?
There is a lot of understandable confusion around this Penn family and the other famous local family of William Penn, Quaker and founder of Pennsylvania in the United States. They are not related, and this Penn family were the original lords of Penn Manor who married into the Curzon family. The Rt. Hon. The Earl Howe PC, to give his full title, was once known simply as Frederick Curzon, until he inherited the title and estate from his cousin in 1984. He has since made this his family home with his wife Elizabeth and their four children.
Penn House from a wet garden
The tour included a number of fascinating family treasures that link to specific points in English history, each room having either a literary, social, military or religious object. Top of the earl’s list were treasures that his 18th century ancestor Admiral Lord Howe (who was triumphant at the 1794 naval battle of the Glorious First of June), had amassed during his career: many letters, journals, ceremonial swords and his personal well-stocked medicine chest as the alternative to a cup of wine dispensed by the ships surgeon to those unfortunate enough to be ill or injured in battle. In contrast, Sybil Penn was the royal wet nurse in the court of King Henry Vlll and is said to haunt Hampton Court Palace, as she looks for a string of pearls given her by the king; but she will never find them as the present countess Howe was wearing them! She did leave behind a cap worn by the infant Edward Vl. I discovered too that the above mentioned ‘gates’ were found floating on the Nile and brought home by an ancestor! Not your usual Egyptian souvenir.
Assheton Curzon was a considerable figure, and was responsible for most of the renovations at Penn House. He sat as Member of Parliament for Clitheroe in Lancashire for nearly 40 years until 1790, and in recognition of his public service was elevated to the House of Lords in 1794. There is a large portrait of him in his parliamentary finery in the music room and Earl Howe took delight in taking him down a peg-or-two as he drew our attention to full head of blonde hair on his 94-year-old portrait!
Penn House: from top left, sticks for every occasion, summer house, Admiral Howe’s medicine chest and from the tennis court
In 1880 visits by the then Prince and Princess of Wales prompted the third earl to enlarge the house considerably by adding new wings and a new frontage, thereby enabling him to accommodate sizeable and prestigious house parties. The walls are adorned with many paintings of naval battles and ancestors, that I don’t think have been forgotten, we just didn’t have enough time to discover who they were. There were a few comments from the group about family resemblances down the generations that I think pleased the earl. The ruling classes are well connected after all.
Chilterns Grand Prix
The final main addition came in the 1930’s when the fifth earl Howe, who was a prominent motor racing driver, built the mile-long drive to the house, suitably banked, for his personal enjoyment and convenience. This legacy is still celebrated each June with the Penn House Gravity Grand Prix. A treasure from his time is the trophy that was presented by Benito Mussolini on behalf of the Ministry for Tourism after a race he won a prestigious and very dangerous road race.
Vll Corsa Mille Miglia. Dona Del R. Commissariato per Il Turismo
Hugely enjoyable and a privilege being invited in to peek into their lives, the earl waved us off with an instruction to visit the nearby local parish church of Holy Trinity, Penn, where the family’s long influence on the village is evident, the two properties sharing a story and sense of place.
Further Information:
Do visit the nearby Holy Trinity Church in Penn which is a part of the Penn House and family story
For further inspiration on what to see and do in the naturally outstanding Chilterns
For further information on another manorial delight Chenies Manor
As one of the last producers of watercress in the Chilterns, the weight of history is upon Jon Tyler’s broad shoulders.
Lush and fiery, watercress is not for the feint-hearted!
Located in the beautiful Chess Valley that links Chesham in the Chilterns with Rickmansworth just inside the M25, E. Tyler & Son’s Crestyl Watercress farm is something of a novelty; in a high tech world, the clocks have paused at Sarratt Bottom, before rushing on up the valley.
Once enjoyed in sandwiches, at breakfast and high-tea, munched on in the streets, this harbinger of spring was sold in huge quantities to Victorian city-dwellers. Tired of their winter fare of meat and root vegetables, were only to glad to eat daily bunches of ‘blood-cleaning’ cress that had been brought in overnight by train and sold in the famous Covent Garden fruit and vegetable market. Jon recalls as a child, being placed in a whicker basket to play alongside the cress, before his family would take the crop on the train from nearby Chorleywood into London to sell in the market. Their stand, run by Elizabeth, Jon’s grandmother, is what Jon reckons kept the business going when farms begun closing in the valley.
Elizabeth Tyler centre with husband Alf and son Fred c.1920 at Sarratt
A prominent figure in the London watercress industry was one Eliza James, who came to dominate the industry with a near trade monopoly and was nicknamed the ‘Watercress Queen.’ Jon is keen however, for his grandmother Elizabeth – who put the ‘E’ in E. Tyler & Son’s, to be put forward as another Watercress Queen: Elizabeth Tyler, Chilterns Watercress Queen! I like that very much.
Using techniques unchanged for centuries, the roots are immersed in water
London Connections
Established in 1886, when there were 19 cress farmers in the valley, Jon’s great grandfather Alfred Tyler, rented the land from the Duke of Bedford (sometime owners of Covent Garden). Frank Tyler bought the land in the 1950’s, which then passed to Jon’s father Terry, and for the past two years, Jon has farmed with the help of his sister Sarah and nephew Henry, who helps out at the weekends.
Jon is very aware of the weight of culinary history and Chilterns heritage that sits upon his shoulders as the River Chess comes under increasing environmental pressure from an expanding local economy. As a direct consequence of a major sewerage discharge into the river, he has to expend precious resources on pumping water from another source that enables him to continue farming, but the plants are not so keen on the water temperature and nor is he keen on the bills!
Recorded by the ancient Greeks, watercress is one of the oldest cultivated plants with many websites and food columns filled with information on it’s health-giving properties. Easy to buy from the supermarket, but now I have tasted what watercress should taste like, there’s no comparison; chalk steam-fed crisp forest-green leaves with long firm stems, pack a fiery after burn that hits your throat after a good chew. Like eating English mustard – it blows all the cobwebs away!
Tendered by Hand
Unlike the major commercial varieties that dominate the supermarket shelves, Jon’s crop is harvested and bunched by hand with a bone-handled knife, kept in the pocket of his jeans. In fact three generations of Tyler-owned Sheffield Steel are featured in the image at the top of this article.
This heritage crop is grown using the same low-tech methods; grown from seed in gravel beds fed by a constant supply of water (which also gets rid of pests), then raked over to root and produce more plants, this plant grows rapidly to produce an abundant year-round crop.
Self-service is a quite a novelty these days! £2 for watercress and Beechdean ice-cream from the shack that sees hungry and thirsty walkers empty their pockets. And that’s important, as Metroland visitors seek space, fresh air and local food to savour and take home with sticky fingers and ideas for how to eat their countryside spoils.
Ice creams and ‘cress for sale!
Jon and his family are integral to a healthy and vibrant visitor economy as the heritage crop they produce enhances and adds to the distinctive visitor offer that sets the Chilterns; somewhere worth spending time and money, somewhere quite different. Somewhere where local businesses thrive. From April, open at weekends only, you will find Jon’s farm at Sarratt Bottom, Moor Lane, WD3 6BZ, and accessible on the Chess Valley walk below.
The only other Chilterns watercress producer are the fifth generation Sansom family who grow cress in Whitwell, Hitchin.
April 2021 update: sadly, Jon is no longer able to sell watercress from his farm due to ongoing issues with the quality of groundwater needed to grow the crop.
Further Information:
The beautiful Chess Valley has other producers and businesses for your to visit and support. Discover other flavours of the Chess here and a taste of it’s remarkable history here.
To find out more about the naturally outstanding Chilterns and to download a walk that will take you right past the farm.
I wonder how many of the declarations of love carved on the beechwood tree trunks, still hold true today?
Anonymous initials, an evocative place name and the ghost of a Celtic tribal chief? It seems fitting that such a place, whilst no longer occupied, still draws visitors who wish also to leave their mark, and a former first century tribal chieftain reputedly still there, marking his presence from the sky.
Unconventional
The landscape of the northern Chilterns is not beautiful in the traditional sense of the word: dramatic yes, tenacious even, as it stands out amidst intense agricultural activity, flight paths to and from Luton, intrusive road infrastructure, a burgeoning population in the crowded South East – yet ironically it was so quiet, I could hear a jet-washer being used in the hamlet below.
Looking south towards London
Sharpenhoe Clappers is located in Bedfordshire to the north of London, in the parish of Streatley, sandwiched between the urban sprawls of Bedford, Dunstable, Luton and alongside the MI motorway. It is an oasis of big skies, wildflowers and a sense of calm.
Orange-tipped butterfly
Classic Chilterns chalk escarpment, you could not find a better example. Protected as a Scheduled Ancient Monument for its prehistoric and medieval features, that this would not however, be obvious if you visited; no interpretation and only a concrete obelisk to commemorate a local family and their sons who died in the First World War. There are numerous way-marked medium and long-distance trails criss-crossing the site, but they offer no clues either. Yet, such a prime topographical site could not have gone unused by the locals? The clues then, are in the name: Sharpenhoe Clappers.
A sharp spur of land
Sharpenhoe means “sharp spur of land” which is an accurate description of the site. Clappers refer to the medieval rabbit warrens consisted of an enclosure surrounding one or more purpose-built breeding places known as pillow mounds or buries.
Looking north, where the spur can be seen to the right
As I approached the site from the carpark, wagging tails and expectation, I decided to walk away from the hilltop and approach from the other side to get a sense of the lay of the land. To the south, the view of the hillfort is not as dramatic as the northern side where you can really appreciate the strategic position of this Iron Age promontory hillfort, now fringed by a ring of beechwoods, like a pudding-bowl haircut. Of the Clappers, I found no evidence.
The iconic avenue of beech trees
Established in the 1840’s, this mature woodland covers what would have been the interior of the fort, with gnarled and worn roots and beechnuts crunched underfoot. Around the fringes, lie decaying moss-covered tree-trunks and stumps, whilst the Dogs Mercury has colonised the floor of the ancient woodland.
The entire hilltop must be a favourite spot to declare your love by carving your initials into the tree trunks. I wonder how many of the locals have carved their names on the beechwood trunks? The initials indecipherable, but the years they declared their love are still visible; 1969, 1972, 1976, 1980 and 1984.
A wishing tree
With so many trunks to choose from, it’s no surprise they are all concentrated along the side where there is an unobstructed view. I noticed too, offerings suspend from branches, like a ‘wishing tree’.
Local legend tells of Cassivellaunus, the Celtic chieftain, who ruled the territory north of the River Thames. He led the native British tribes in opposition to Julius Caesar on his second expedition in 54 BC and haunts the site by cloaking the hilltop in cloud. Why the association with this location? I rather hoped he was there today as the show of clouds – not menacing nor dark – but light and playful against the backdrop of rapeseed, where impressive and reassuring.
Rapeseed under a Celtic sky
I have visited a number of Chiltern hill forts over the years and have found each has a distinctive feel, not always immediately obvious; some broody, some with easy-to-spot landscape features and others needing a more active imagination to bring them alive. Sharpenhoe Clappers has the best name and still feels lived-in and loved by the locals.
Further Inspiration:
I am proud that we have such wonderful links back to the past when our ancestors began colonising this area, and look forward to the outcomes of a new hill forts project that the Chilterns Conservation Board is undertaking that promises to reveal what lies beneath the benign Chilterns woodlands.
Sharpenhoe Clappers, half in and half out of 1m res EA LiDAR. “It may be a hillfort, and it may not be – we hope the subtleties revealed by a 25cm survey, coupled with some further investigation and debate, may resolve the issue!” Dr Wendy Morrison. Photo credit: Environment Agency August 2018.
In places the original iron fence has been replaced by wood, then barbed wire simply rolled over the gaps that will keep everything out. Or in. The contrast between the carefully managed fields and the disarray and upheaval behind me couldn’t be greater. The former almost lifeless, the latter bursting with life. Do trees fall uphill?
Here is a link to three circular walks all local, with connections by train and car.
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Drinking before lunchtime is not without risk; needing a loo whilst out on the trail, not finding the trail, or failing to turn up for lunch on time!
The Chilterns is a living, working area of beautiful countryside whose character has been shaped by agriculture, industry and the people who have lived and worked here over the centuries. Once the larder of London, the historic market towns, tucked-away villages, pubs, chalk-fed streams, valleys and ancient woodland, hint at the tradition of growing, trading, travel and of course, enjoyment of good local food and drink.
Chilterns Festival of Food & Drink
I had the pleasure of once again visiting the charming Chess Valley to meet food producers including a start-up brewery and the last watercress farmer in the valley, with our guides Andrew Clark and local Chess Valley Lamb farmer, Paul Jennings, both of whom had organised this unique event as part of the inaugural Chilterns Festival of Food & Drink.
It was another beautiful spring morning as we set off from Chenies Manor on our walk through this beautiful valley. This historic location has been impacted by human settlement for thousands of years; from the Iron Age, to the first century AD when the Romans began farming arable crops, to medieval settlements and abandoned churches, to the more obvious manor houses, miscellaneous ruined structures, monuments, tombs and the historic (altered) landscape are evidence of the many human endeavours.
Despite knowing you are out in the Chilterns countryside, I am reminded of how precious this landscape is – some would say lung – situated so close to burgeoning market towns and London. I heard mention many times of the environmental stress that the River Chess endures, from drought, increased demand for water and waterborne pollution.
The tranquil river chess
Three Springs
Rising from three springs, the river is fed from precious groundwater beneath the Chiltern hills that hold a chalk aquifer that is the lifeblood of this region. From nearby Chesham, the river flows below parkland landscaped by Capability Brown at Latimer House, just to the north of the hamlet of Chenies, through water meadows at Frogmore and the watercress beds at Sarratt Bottom to the west of Sarratt, which was our destination.
All new ales brewed at the Sarratt-based Paradigm Brewery, founded in 2012 and already making a tasteful noise across the Chilterns. Co-owners Neil Hodges and Rob Atkinson certainly have a passion for what they do, a quest for producing the best beer, which is no easy feat when the bigger brewers have first dibs at the hops harvest. Undaunted, their beer is flying off the shelves, much in demand from local pubs and thirsty brewery visitors. I must confess to not being very knowledgable or appreciative of all things beer, but my father used to brew his own in the garage so understand the brewers zeal. I was keen to try to watercress beer that John Tyler suggested they use to create a new flavour that would be really distinctive, something that tasted of the Chess Valley.
Strip lynchets before lunch
Andrew and Paul pointed out various landmarks and places where former industry once was, including strip lynchets, on the rise up the valley side that are thought to date from the 9th century and may have been the site of medieval vineyards! Vines love chalky soils. There is plenty of wildlife, including the rare ‘ratty’ or water vole, once again making their homes on the riverbanks. The area is busy with film crews too including; Midsomer Murders, Taboo and Mary Berry’s Everyday cookery show.
Crestyl Watercress Beds
The highlight of the day was a visit to E.Tyler & Sons Crestyl Watercress beds, the last cress farmer from a once busy industry that supplied the dining tables of London. The lama’s grazing at the entrance politely ignored us as we headed down the lane to meet with John Tyler, third generation farmer and formally keeper of the cress flame.
John Tyler, formally the keeper of the flame
John is a man with many stories and he stood waiting for us with his tools of the trade; an innocuous-looking knife and plastic crate into which he placed the freshly cut cress. The diverted clear waters of the Chess make for perfect growing conditions as the plants take root in the shallow beds. The farm feels timeless, the tools, the terrain and technology. And the flavour, wow! Fiery, peppery and fresh. ‘Just picked’ cliche aside, it’s true.
Chenies Manor
Andrew dragged us away as our Taste of the Chess Valley feast awaited at Chenies Manor. On the menu was Crestyl Watercress soup, Chess Valley-grazed slow cooked lamb pea&mint pie, Blackwell farmed beef and Paradigm Ale pie served with a fiery cress salad, and if there was room, Chiltern hills honey and rhubarb.
Two happy diners
What a fabulous day; being able to enjoy a beautiful spring walk in the Chilterns, meeting inspirational food producers, hearing their stories, sometimes tinged with dark humour as they have had to overcome obstacles on the way to bring us such wonderful food and unusual drink. Now it’s your turn to enjoy it.
Further Information
Read about the last watercress producer John Tyler, who has sadly had to close this business to the varying quality of the water.
I recommend this 10-mile walk through the Chess Valley, details downloaded here.
For further information on what else there is to enjoy locally in the Chilterns and elsewhere across the summer.
A story of battles fought and lost in a far-off land and a horse’s heart buried in Latimer.
Sharing the Charming Chess Valley with visitors during the Chilterns Walking Festival
A beautiful morning as we set off on our walk along the banks of the River Chess in the Chess Valley, 23 miles north west of London in the beautiful Chiltern Hills. Trees a-flame in their autumnal Sunday best, the scenery captivating. This historic valley has been impacted by human settlement for thousands of years; from the Iron Age, to the first century AD when the Romans began farming arable crops in the valley, to medieval settlements and abandoned churches, to the more obvious manor houses, miscellaneous ruined structures, monuments, tombs and the historic (altered) landscape are evidence of the many human endeavours.
The Chess valley with the trout pools in the distance
Latimer House
We started our walk at Latimer House, the view across the valley framed by the grazing sheep, the trout beds below us and clouds drifting in from the east. This serene valley and its river, link Rickmansworth and Chesham, in the heart of the Chilterns with the river falling 60 metres along its 11-mile length. The fishery forms two lakes stocked with rainbow trout, while the indigenous brown trout grow large on a ready supply of natural food. We were hoping to see either trout or the famed voles, recently released back into the wild.
Latimer House was once home to the Cavendish family who became baron’s of Chesham, and the 3rd Baron Chesham features further on in this story. The original Elizabethan house, where King Charles I was imprisoned in 1647 and King Charles II took refuge before he fled abroad, was badly damaged in the early 18th century. The red brick-style Tudor mansion is now a hotel, and was re-built in 1838. The house is true to the Chilterns tradition of red-brick country mansions that suit the landscape well, neither dominating or being dominated by it.
Latimer House
The Three Rivers
The river is shallow and the gravel bed can be clearly seen with watercress still growing along stretches of the river, but commercial production of this fiery crop has unfortunately now ceased. The River Chess is a chalk stream which springs at Chesham, which along with the Colne and Gade, gives rise to the name of the district of Three Rivers, where it forms its confluence with the Colne at Rickmansworth. They are not raging torrents, nor do they offer picturesque waterfalls or dramatic twist or turns; what makes them so special is that their languid flow cannot be taken for granted at all. They rise from the chalk aquifers, deep underground, where the chalk is like a big sponge, absorbing and storing the water and whose levels are dependent on rainfall and have in fact run dry in recent memory.
Fresh and sharp. The tastiest!
The walk continues to the next hamlet at Chenies, where the semi-fortified brick manor house of Chenies Manor and Bedford Arms pub are located.
William Liberty
Adjacent to the Chess Valley footpath between Latimer and Mill Farm, is the tomb of William Liberty who died in 1777. A relative of the family of Liberty’s of Regent Street London, and former residents of the village Lee, who left a substantial legacy for the Chilterns, wished to be buried alone and near his mansion on the hill (of which nothing remains). It stuck me as an odd place to be buried, as it is not near any obvious landmarks. Only upon looking around, I could see it was in fact near the spot where the church of St Mary Magdalene once stood. Nothing remains except some raised banks, and ivy-clad walls in amongst the trees, and it’s easily missed, but it was his wish to buried outside of the consecrated church grounds.
‘Sacred to the memory of Mr. William Liberty of Chorleywood Brickmaker (sic) who was by his own desire buried in a vault in this part of his estate. He died 21st. April 1777 aged 52 years. Here also lieth the body of Alice Liberty widower of the above named William Liberty who died 29th. May 1809 aged 72 years’.
Inscribed on the Liberty Tomb
A horses heart buried in Latimer
We stop to tickle the horses’ noses and listen to the birdsong along the valley, before returning to the chocolate box hamlet of Latimer. It is here you will find the extraordinary Boer War memorials on the tiny green, that hints of battles fought and lost in a far-off land and a horse’s heart buried in Latimer.
Anglo Boer War
Nols Nieman writing in the South African ‘Die Volksblad’ in 2001 described what he imaged the burial of General de Villebois-Mareuil to have looked like:
“It was a striking scene: moonlight bathed the limestone walls and cypress trees of the cemetery in Boshof as a group of English soldiers solemnly buried a “French general” with full military honours. The man in question was Count Georges de Villebois-Mareuil, the brave warrior who fought like a Boer general in the Anglo Boer War.” Read the article here.
The village green at Latimer
The general’s horse was transported to Britain by Lord Chesham, where it lived until February 1911. Its heart and ceremonial trappings were buried on the Latimer village green, adjacent to the memorial commemorating those Chilterns-men who served in South Africa.
‘The horse ridden by General Georges de Villebois-Mareuil At the battle of Boshof South Africa 5th April 1900 in which the general was killed And the horse wounded.’
Even in this tiny corner of England, the scene could not be further from the ruggered South African veld, vernacular and culture. Yet, like threads in a well-worn carpet, our stories are interwoven right across the world and far back into our history, which for me spans both England and South Africa.
Further Information
The walk is way-marked with historical and natural history interpretation, pubs a-plenty for walkers to quench their thirst! Download the route guide here:
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A celebration of the Chiltern Hills – a field guide
The Chilterns 