And so September has begun. Thus far it's been warm, with golden afternoons...just as I love them to be..
...full of dandelions and the first curled, crisping leaves falling in the churchyard. I've posted briefly before about the walls that surround us here, and some of the marks on them...but after almost 15 years I've only recently begun to stop and properly look at them. Our museum, which has some walls that run parallel to the church path, was once the Boys Grammar School in town (long since moved)...and I've noticed that many of those boys left their mark...
Who was 'W. Yates' I wonder? You can distinguish the old graffiti from the new (which is, of course, there too) by the much more ornate formation of the letters...
Proper handwriting would have been drummed into 'G.Cox' back in 1915...
Isn't it wonderful to see this and wonder? Humans have always and
will always want to make their mark...
...to leave a sign that they were once here....that they mattered...
(I loved this glazed brick too...)
I think I see 1835 in the traces above....
The back walls of the school (and there was another school and a workhouse situated behind it, too) were used to sharpen slate pencils...
...for many, many years, judging by the deep grooves that are left...
Our neighbours' garden was once a walled orchard and dates back to the 1600s...
as I passed on my way home I was delighted to find that someone long ago had etched this little butterfly into the brick...
...and whose cat was wandering in the brickworks that day?! When you live in an area with so much history, you begin to learn how to spot it everywhere you look. Our home was part of a farmhouse when it was built in the late 18th century, and this cobbled area on the pavement....
...marks the spot where the carts and carriages would have travelled in and out of the farmyard....before the 'modern' Victorian cottages were built that now stand where the cowsheds and manure piles once did. And long, long before any of us who live here now were even thought of...even our 95 year old next door neighbour, who has seen so much happen during his long life. Humbling. Inspiring. And quite, quite wonderful!
Have a fabulous weekend! x
I didn't realise you had another blog! Our cathedral is full of masons marks which makes for a fascinating few hours wandering the aisles and arches seeking them out! I wonder how much of today's mark making will survive the test of time? ~~~waving~~~
ReplyDeleteWonderful pictures! Thanks! xoxo
ReplyDeleteGreat pictures. I remember passing by the church when we visited you. I certainly wished the walls could talk then.
ReplyDeleteIt is so cool to find these marks left from the past. We hiked in one area once to go see Indian carvings!
ReplyDeleteOne of the things I love so much about my ancestral history, which is largely in England and Ireland, is that it goes back so far. There is a groundedness and connectedness when I review my own history and so grateful for being placed in it by God, I believe. I think growing up in Boston and surrounding area in the 1950's and 60's, and having a father who loved history, makes me so aware of this, though of course, our history over here is so much shorter. But in Boston -- and I have spent so much time there -- when you look carefully, you see signs of all the things that those people brought with them from the English countryside surrounding London. I have been amazed as I've learned more about England itself, how much of it's ways and customs the English people were able to bring with them, and very much of it still exists below the surface, which you see when you know where to look, when you were born and raised there. I love your blog, Rachel. It makes me feel "at home" at a time when I am living in a very different place. Thank you so much for sharing bits and pieces of your life there.
ReplyDeleteOh my how interesting this is. And to live among such history! This has to be so inspirational! (Love the butterfly!)
ReplyDeleteBlessings,
Gert
Such a sweet post today, Rachel. I would wonder, too, about those who etched their initials. I would sigh with joy and wonder just walking outside onto that lovely cobblestone! What a blessing to live where you do! Have a wonderful day!
ReplyDeleteIt must be enchanting to live in an area with so much history! Those etchings on the bricks must bear some interesting stories - if they could only talk! Happy September, sweetheart! Lovely post! xoxo
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