Grain And Chaff From An English Manor - free ebook by Arthur Herbert Savory

GRAIN AND CHAFF FROM AN ENGLISH MANOR

By ARTHUR H. SAVORY...

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PREFACE

As a result of increased facilities within the last quarter of a century for the exploration of formerly inaccessible parts of the country, interest concerning our ancient villages has been largely awakened. Most of these places have some unwritten history and peculiarities worthy of attention, and an extensive literary field is thus open to residents with opportunities for observation and research. Such records have rarely been undertaken in the past, possibly because those capable of doing so

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CHAPTER PAGE

XXVI. Is ALDINGTON THE ROMAN ANTONA?…………………… 294 "Ah, what a life were this! how sweet! how lovely! Gives not the hawthorn-bush a sweeter shade To shepherds looking on their silly sheep, Than doth a rich embroider'd canopy To kings that fear their subjects' treachery!" 3 King Henry VI . "When I paused to lean on my hoe, these sounds and sights I heard and saw anywhere in the row, a part of the inexhaustible

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ALDINGTON VILLAGE—THE MANOR HOUSE—THE FARM.

"There's a divinity that shapes our ends." — Hamlet . "Deep-meadow'd, happy, fair with orchard lawns." — Morte d'Arthur . In recalling my earliest impressions of the village of Aldington, near Evesham, Worcestershire, the first picture that presents itself is of two chestnut-trees in full bloom in front of the Manor House which became my home, and their welcome was so gracious on that sunny

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THE FARM BAILIFF.

"If a job has to be done you may as well do it first as last." —WILLIAM BELL. The labourers born and bred in the Vale of Evesham are mostly tall and powerful men, and mine were no exception; where the land is good the men compare favourably in size and strength with those in less favoured localities, and the same applies to the horses, cattle, and sheep; but the Vale, with its moist climate, does not produce such ruddy complexions as the clear

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THE HOP FOREMAN AND THE HOP DRIER.

"Oft did the harvest to their sickle yield, * * * * * How bowed the woods beneath their sturdy stroke." —GRAY'S Elegy . Jarge was one of the most prominent characters among my men. He was not a native of the Vale, coming from the Lynches, a hilly district to the north of Evesham. He was a sturdy and very excellent workman. He did with his might whatsoever his hand found to do, and everything he undertook was a success. The beautifully tri

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THE HEAD CARTER—THE CARPENTER.

"There's a right way and a wrong way to do everything, and folks most in general chooses the wrong un." —TOM G. Jim was my first head carter, and he dearly loved a horse. He had, as the saying is, forgotten more about horses than most men ever knew, and what he didn't know wasn't worth knowing. He was a cheery man, and when I went to Aldington was about to be married. Not being much of a "scholard," his first request was that I would writ

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AN OLD FASHIONED SHEPHERD—OLD TRICKER—A GARDENER—MY SECOND HEAD CARTER—A LABOURER.

"Along the cool sequester'd vale of life They kept the noiseless tenor of their way." —GRAY'S Elegy . I had experiences of various shepherds, and the man I remember best was John C. Short, sturdy, strong, and willing, he was somewhat prejudiced and old-fashioned, with many traditions and inherited convictions as to remedies and the treatment of sheep. John had a knowing expression; his nose projected and his forehead and chin retreated,

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CHARACTERISTICS OF AGRICULTURAL LABOURERS AND VILLAGERS.

"My crown is in my heart, not on my head: Not deck'd with diamonds and Indian stones," — 3 Henry VI . The agricultural labourer, and the countryman generally, does not recognize any form of property beyond land, houses, buildings, farm stock, and visible chattels. A groom whom I questioned concerning a new-comer, a wealthy man, in the neighbourhood, summed him up thus: "Oh, not much account—only one hoss and a brougham!" A railway may run

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MACHINERY—VILLAGE POLITICS—ASPARAGUS.

"Last week came one to the county town To preach our poor little army down." — Maud . Though machinery has lightened the labour of manual workers to some extent, it entails much more trouble upon masters and foremen, for breakages are frequent and always occur at the busiest time. What with mowers, reapers, thrashing machines, chaff-cutters, root-pulpers, and grain-mills run by steam-power or in connection with horse-gears; hop-washers, separat

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MY THREE VICARS—CHURCH RESTORATION—CHURCHWARDEN EXPERIENCES— CLERICAL AND OTHER STORIES.

"Where many a generation's prayer, Hath perfumed and hath blessed the air." —GLADSTONE. I saw a good deal of my three successive Vicars, for I was Vicar's churchwarden for a period of nearly twenty years, and was treasurer of the fund for the restoration and enlargement of Badsey Church. My first Vicar had held the living for over thirty years when we decided upon this important undertaking; and not wishing to be burdened with the correspond

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THE SCHOOL BOARD—RELIGIOUS INSTRUCTION—SCHOOL INSPECTIONS—DEAN FARRAR—COMPULSORY EDUCATION.

"Knowledge is proud that he has learned so much; Wisdom is humble that he knows no more." —COWPER. When I came to Aldington I found that by the energy of the Vicar an elementary school had been built and equipped, and was working well under the voluntary system. I accepted the post of treasurer at his invitation, but as time went on financial difficulties arose, as the Education Department increased their requirements. The large farmers were

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VILLAGE INSTITUTIONS: CRICKET—FOOTBALL—FLOWERSHOW—BAND—POSTMAN— CONCERTS.

"There is sweet music here that softer falls Than petals from blown roses on the grass." The Lotus-Eaters . Among village institutions a cricket club was started soon after I first came, and I was able to lend a meadow in which the members could play. I held the sinecure office of President. The members met, discussed ways and means, drew up regulations, and instituted fines for various delinquencies. Swearing was expensive at threepence

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DEALERS—LUCK MONEY—FAIRS—SALES—EFFECT OF CLIMATE ON CATTLE AND SHEEP—AGRICULTURAL SHOWS.

"I'll give thrice so much land To any well-deserving friend; But in the way of bargain, mark ye me, I'll cavil on the ninth part of a hair." — 1 Henry IV . Dealers of all kinds were much more frequent callers at farm-houses in the early days of my farming, than latterly when auction sales, to some extent, superseded private negotiations, but the horse-dealer remained constant, because comparatively few horses were offered by aucti

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FARM SPECIALISTS.

"And who that knew him could forget The busy wrinkles round his eyes." — The Miller's Daughter . Many specialists, in distinct professions, visited the farm in the course of every twelve months, and each appeared at the season when his particular services were likely to be required. Among these an ancient grafter was one of the most important, and April was the month which brought him to Aldington. In January we had usually beheaded some trees tha

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THE DAIRY—CATTLE—SHEEP—LAMBS—PIGS—POULTRY.

"And brushing ankle-deep in flowers, We heard behind the woodbine veil The milk that bubbled in the pail, And buzzings of the honied hours." — In Memoriam . My farm had the reputation of being a good cheese farm, but a bad butter farm; in spite, however, of this tradition I determined to establish a pedigree Jersey herd for butter-making. For early in my occupation I had abandoned the cheese manufacture of my predecessor and later th

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ORCHARDS—APPLES—CIDER—PERRY.

"Lo! sweetened with the summer light, The full-juiced apple, waxing over-mellow Drops in a silent autumn night." — The Lotus-Eaters . A curious old punning Latin line, illustrating various meanings of the word malus , an apple, seems appropriate, as a commencement, to writing about apples; it is I think very little known, and too good to be forgotten. Malo, malo, malo, malo ; it is translated thus: " Malo , I would rather be, Malo , in an apple

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PLUMS—CHERRIES.

"A right down hearty one he be as'll make some of our maids look alive. And the worst time of year for such work too, when the May-Dukes is in, and the Hearts a-colouring!" —Crusty John in Alice Lorraine . The Vale of Evesham has the credit of being the birthplace of two most valuable plums—the Damascene, and the Pershore, or Egg plum. These both grow on their own stocks, so require no grafting, and can readily be propagated by severi

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TREES: ELM—OAK—BEECH—WILLOW—SCOTS-FIR.

"O flourish, hidden deep in fern, Old oak, I love thee well; A thousand thanks for what I learn And what remains to tell." — The Talking Oak . Keats tells us that "The trees That whisper round a temple become soon Dear as the temple's self," and had he included the trees around a dwelling-house, the epigram would have been equally applicable. Sometimes, of course, it becomes absolutely necessary to cut down an

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CORN—WHEAT—RIDGE AND FURROW—BARLEY—FARMERS NEWSTYLE AND OLDSTYLE.

"He led me thro' the short sweet-smelling lanes Of his wheat-suburb, babbling as he went." — The Brook . I do not propose to enter upon the ordinary details of arable farming, as not of very general interest, except for those actually engaged thereon. I am aiming especially at the more unusual crops, and what I may call the curiosities of agriculture. It is most interesting to turn to Virgil's Georgics and see how they apply after the lapse

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HOPS—INSECT ATTACKS—HOP FAIRS.

"Oft expectation fails, and most oft there Where most it promises; and oft it hits Where hope is coldest and despair most fits." — All's Well that Ends Well . In a very rare black-letter book on hop culture, A Perfite Platforme of a Hoppe Garden , published in the year 1578 and therefore over 340 years old, the author, Reynolde Scot, has the following quaint remarks on one of the disorders to which the hop plant is liable: "The hoppe that liketh not his entertainment, namely his

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METEOROLOGY—ETON AND HARROW AT LORD'S—"RUS IN URBE."

"But if I praised the busy town, He loved to rail against it still, For 'ground in yonder social mill We rub each other's angles down, "'And merge,' he said, 'in form and gloss The picturesque of man and man.'" — In Memoriam . During the terribly wet summer of 1879 the following lines were written—it was said by the then Bishop of Wakefield—in the visitors' book at the White Lion Hotel at Bala, in Wales: "The wea

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CHANGING COURSE OF STREAMS—DEWPONDS—A WET HARVEST—WEATHER PHENOMENA—WILL-O'-THE-WISP—VARIOUS.

"There rolls the deep where grew the tree. O Earth, what changes hast thou seen!" — In Memoriam . "With many a curve my banks I fret By many a field and fallow, And many a fairy foreland set With willow-weed and mallow. "I chatter, chatter, as I flow To join the brimming river, For men may come and men may go, But I go on for ever." The Brook . Living so many yea

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BIRDS: PEACOCKS—A WHITE PHEASANT—ROOKS' ARITHMETIC.

"Hail to thee, blithe spirit! Bird thou never wert, That from heaven or near it, Pourest thy full heart." —SHELLEY: To a Skylark . We read of the peacocks which Solomon's navy of Tarshish brought once in three years with other rare and precious commodities to contribute to the splendour of his court; and doubtless their magnificence added a distinct feature even where so much that was beautiful was to be seen; but, to show itself off to the

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CHAPTER XXII.

"The heart is hard in nature and unfit For human fellowship, as being void Of sympathy, and therefore dead alike To love and friendship both, that is not pleased With sight of animals enjoying life, Nor feels their happiness augment his own." —COWPER. There are many stories of the affection of the domestic goose for man, and I knew of one which was very fond of a friend of mine. The goose followed him like a dog, and w

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BUTTERFLIES—MOTHS—WASPS.

"How like a rainbow, sparkling as a dewdrop, Glittering as gold, and lively as a swallow, Each left his grave-shroud and in rapture winged him Up to the heavens." —ANON. I have always been fascinated by the beauty of butterflies and moths, and I think I began collecting when I was about eleven, as I remember having a net when I was at school at Rottingdean. My first exciting capture was a small tortoiseshell, and I was much disappointed when

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CYCLING—PAGEANTS OF THE ROADS—ROADSIDE CREATURES—HARMONIOUS BUILDING—COLLECTING OLD FURNITURE AND CHINA.

"I may soberly confess that sometimes, walking abroad after my studies, I have been almost mad with pleasure—the effect of nature upon my soul having been inexpressibly ravishing and beyond what I can convey to you." —JOHN INGLESANT. I suppose that the bicycle has given, and gives, as much pleasure to fairly active people as any machine ever invented. I must have been one of the first cyclists in England, as my experience dates from

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DIALECT—LOCAL PHRASEOLOGY IN SHAKESPEARE—NAMES—STUPID PLACES.

"Our echoes roll from soul to soul." — The Princess . Compulsory education has eliminated many of the old words and phrases formerly in general use in Worcestershire, and is still striving to substitute a more "genteel," but not always more correct, and a much less picturesque, form of speech. When I first went to Aldington I found it difficult to understand the dialect, but I soon got accustomed to it, and used it myself in speaking to the villagers. Farrar used to tell us at school, in one of

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IS ALDINGTON (FORMER SITE) THE ROMAN ANTONA?

"Imperious Caesar, dead and turn'd to clay, Might stop a hole to keep the wind away: O, that that earth, which kept the world in awe Should patch a wall to expel the winter's flaw!" — Hamlet . One of my fields—about five acres—called Blackbanks from its extraordinarily black soil, over a yard deep in places, and the more remarkable because the soil of the surrounding fields is stiff yellowish clay, showed other indications of

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NOTES

[1: Celebrated breeders of the respective sorts.] [2: Fig. 1 shows the flattened S formed by the stream. Fig. 2 shows the short circuit formed later at A and the island B When the old bed of the stream round B gets filled up, the island B disappears, and its area and that part of the old bed formerly on the west side of the stream is transferred to the east side.] [3: Mr. H.A. Evans sends me a very interesting note on this subject. He refers me to Shakespeare, Henry VIII., III., II., 282 , where

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