Tuesday, July 4, 2023

The Unpronounceable Castle


Here's a shot of Olga on the beach yesterday morning, which shows what I mean about the sand -- down near the tide line, the shingle turns into hard sand that's good for walking. So if you're out on the beach at low tide, that's the place to be.

Yesterday we took a little trip away from our beachfront cottage to go to Herstmonceux Castle, a restored medieval castle about six miles away. I found it while scouting around for things to do in this area, and I talked Dave into going, though he wasn't thrilled with the idea. I felt a little like Hyacinth Bucket dragging the long-suffering Richard to yet another country estate.

But we all piled into a taxi and made the short journey, and we even brought Olga, which I'm sure Hyacinth would never have allowed.


Surrounded on at least two sides by a watery moat, the castle is owned by Queen's College in Canada and is used for events and educational programs, so the interior wasn't open to the public. But there are gardens and forests surrounding it which are good for a ramble.

The list of owners of the manor goes back to 1066, when it was owned by Edmer, a priest. Around 1200 its owner was Idonea de Herst, who married Ingelram de Monceux. (Hence the name, which, despite my post title, actually is pronounceable -- the web site says the correct way is "HERST-MON-ZOO.") Sir Roger Fiennes built the castle in the early 1400s, and it was passed down through a series of noblemen before being bought by George Naylor in 1708 for £38,000. (Nowadays, enough for a mid-range automobile.)

After the 1700s the castle's interior deteriorated and the whole thing became an ivy-covered ruin, popular with Victorian day-trippers. It was restored to its current form by the 1930s and eventually became an outpost of the Royal Greenwich Observatory.


We saw this pair of peacocks wandering the gardens. Olga, who was kept on her lead the whole time, was mesmerized. We imagined her thinking: "Those are the BIGGEST PIGEONS I've ever seen!"


On a woodland trail we saw chestnut trees that were planted back in 1700 -- well before the USA existed (as I pointed out), and when Bach was still a teenager (as Dave said).


At the distant end of the gardens and fields stands this architectural folly, which looks like a little house -- as Dave said, "where they put Grandma." The interior is actually just a narrow empty room with gates onto a pleasant, enclosed back garden. There's a sign on the front door asking visitors to keep it closed so rabbits don't get in.


After wandering around for a short time and grabbing unremarkable sandwiches in the cafe, we caught a taxi for home. Here's Olga and Dave waiting for the car near the entrance to the castle grounds, where the former observatory has now become an educational science center. We saw one of the domes -- which house the telescopes -- revolve and a bunch of kids came out.

Here's a history of the Royal Greenwich Observatory's location at Herstmonceux, which is interesting. Basically, London got too crowded and light-polluted, so it moved here for several decades, and subsequently moved on. (That's the short version!)

20 comments:

  1. What a great day and stunning place and ground. I hope Dave was grateful you Hyachinthed him. The pronunciation is comical.

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  2. Looks like the weather is holding up for you. It's interesting how the fashionable green helmet Dave was wearing seems very similar to the observatory domes in the background.

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  3. I guess the observatory had to move again from here due to light pollution.
    The old tree is amazing. How does it remain upright!
    The folly house, shades of Leinster Gardens fake houses.
    Nice work Olga. You've cleared everyone from the beach. What is your next trick?

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  4. I love the castle, but I could live in the little house!

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  5. So many fun things to see... for Olga, too! Was the observatory dome on Dave's head planned or discovered once you examined your photos? He's a good sport about you and your camera (as is Olga).

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  6. Great day out, faithfully recounted by our scribe. Now that's a beach! Shingle=shore, sand=beach where I grew up! So, okay, your vacation qualifies.

    Dave always looks resigned to where he is, maybe it's just his resting face. I don't think you've mentioned what his own favored musical instrument is. Would he mind if you said more?

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  7. That photo of Olga on the beach is really terrific, Steve. What a view of the lovely sky!

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  8. Oh, that tree! But a relative baby compared to some of the cypress trees in Florida that were here when Jesus supposedly walked the earth. Or the giant sequoias that are over 3,000 years old! Trees are absolutely sentient beings in my opinion and I definitely would have said a little prayer to that chestnut.
    Glad you got to explore the castle area. I saw that on line when I googled Pevensey and wondered if you'd go. And a real moat! Do they keep any crocodiles in it to deter attack?
    I love how Olga is studying the back of Dave's head. Or so it seems.

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  9. interesting little bit of history but weird that it's owned by a college in Canada now. kind of far for an event center. I laughed at your Hyacinth Bucket reference. Minnie doesn't know what to make of our neighborhood peacock either when it roams around here.

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  10. What a beautiful day to explore that area around the castle. I love that little house and would like to live in it. And that tree and the peacocks are so beautiful. Nice to see Dave and Olga!

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  11. Apparently priests used to make more money than they do these days. What a beautiful castle and thank you for the photos and links, so that I can visit it without leaving home:)

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  12. Seems like there are no people . The beach is like one in northern Canada with no people. I like the beach to myself.

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  13. I love the last picture of Dave and Olga! They're both adorable.

    Enjoy the rest of your family holiday, Steve. :)

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  14. Great job with the exploration. That castle is well worth a trip to see it. It's beautiful. I hope Dave is glad he went along. I would love to have seen Olga looking at those peacocks.

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  15. That's an incredible castle; I would definitely freeze if anyone asked me to pronounce it. The weather seems much better than predicted from that blue sky and Dave's short sleeves.

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  16. A wonderful castle. That's the kind of architecture I prefer. And enough has been said about Dave's green derby so I will say no more. Except does he ever get mad at you?

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  17. It looks like a terrific holiday so far -- and nice weather, too. I would have loved visiting the castle -- and the folly. Beautiful! (Did you pose Dave like that on purpose, or just a fluke?)

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  18. Cool. What a nice excursion with Olga, the most important member of the family.

    Love,
    Janie

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  19. Mitchell: I think he was grateful. He agreed it was interesting.

    YP: LOL -- I didn't even notice the "helmet." Fortunately I have several other shots in which that effect isn't as apparent.

    Andrew: Follies were a thing in the Victorian era. Lots of grand English gardens have them.

    Bob: You really couldn't. It's about ten feet deep.

    Kelly: It certainly wasn't planned, and in fact I didn't discover it at all -- YP did!

    Boud: I'm glad our beach now "passes." LOL! Yes, resigned is a good word to describe Dave when I rope him into these things.

    Ellen D: It was a beautiful morning! We've been very lucky with the weather.

    Ms Moon: I'm surprised no medieval lords ever thought to import crocodiles. I guess it gets too cold for them in the winter!

    Ellen: I agree -- the Queen's College connection is strange.

    Robin: It's really not a house, it just looks like one. More of a facade with a patio and garden in back.

    Pixie: I think priests were quite privileged back in the day!

    Red: Yes, it's very uncrowded here. A blessed change from London!

    Jennifer: I like that picture too! I normally wouldn't have cut Olga in half but I couldn't move back any farther.

    Sharon: She was riveted!

    Margaret: Yeah, we've been very lucky. It rained last night but we didn't care -- we were indoors!

    Catalyst: Not at all! He is as amused as I am by such things. (Though as I said above, the derby was completely unintentional and in fact I never even noticed it.)

    Jeanie: He's not posed! It was a complete fluke.

    Janie: She is, and she knows it!

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  20. For most of my life, there was a giant chestnut tree on my bicycling route that had escaped the ravages of the Chestnut blight but about five years ago, the tree died and now I don't know where a single chestnut tree is. I'm anxiously awaiting the genetically modified ones that are resistant to the blight brought from Japan so I can do my part in repopulating them. I wonder if that one escaped the blight or it never made it there.

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