Embedded Files
Stone Henge. Would you look at that? These stones, which hold the same properties as so many other rocks aged over millions of years, have grown to become a symbol of English Culture and Heritage. Why may you ask? These are not just your ordinary rocks, ladies and gentlemen. These blocks of stone, standing at 13 feet tall and 7 feet wide, were not only arranged in perfect concentric circles but they were brought here from somewhere else entirely. The amazing feet, that we have come to understand, are that stones, as seen below, were moved, most likely from 180 miles away! How? The Iron Age people would cut down many tree trunks and roll the stones on top of them. Each trunk was pulled forward to replace the front runner as they went. That's pretty impressive when you take in their weight at around 25 tons. Yes, that 50,000 pounds a stone! Need I remind you, that's not just one stone, there was a total of 80 original stones that stood on this site, though only 43 remain. While ceremonies for both the Summer and the Winter Solstice were celebrated in circles such as these, many historians and archaeologists presume that these were also meeting points for the celebration of birth, marriage unions, and burials. At least 56 burials were held here, indicated by the cremated remains discovered in the 1920s. This place was not only a great achievement in engineering for a culture that lived back in 3000 BC but also of major significance for us in our understanding of how these earlier humans lived and celebrated their lives. Which is, believe it or not, quite similar to our own.
This place, while amazing, did not quite blow me out of the water at first glance. And by first glance, I do not mean driving up the road and seeing it off in the distance. While Stone Henge is quite literally on the side of a highway, it is blocked from any view of the road. This would make sense for an attraction, for who would pay to see something that you can see plain as day from the road? It's not like a castle where you would pay to see the inside. The walking path that circles the standing stones is the closest that you can get to these monumental blocks.
We paid our entry and stepped through the modern, and by modern, I mean a large rectangle shell comprised of a ticking counter, gift shop, and some neolithic artifacts in the temperature-monitored casing. This was a small space to get to the main event. That was essentially a large field. But one you could see the Circle Stones from before even opening the door to the museum portions rear entrance. After some walking, you would get close enough to make out the lines of its edges. Edges of the mysterious and time-tested, Stone Henge. The stones themselves, were impressive when you thought about their origin story and the people who had the impossible task of moving such stones. That is after chiseling them out of their previous landscape. Yeah, they weren't waiting at the call-ahead pick-up center at Home Depot with their buddy Gary from the Masonry Dept coming over to ask how the kids were. No, these people who lived 5,000 years ago, predate the pyramids of Egypt and coincide with the very first dynasty of Ancient Egyptians. That's the thing about history, it's not about detailed carvings, cut jewels, lavished pottery, and tapestries that sometimes get you to stop and think. Oftentimes, its small rocks cut into arrowheads or sharp thrusting spears. Sometimes it's amateur tools that can be used to do inspiring things. It truly is the smallest details that often have the biggest effect on the world. Hell, the person who invented the wheel, I'm sure, was very popular.
Makes you wonder, looking at this ancient engineering, if some of the workers died before they even reached the present location of Stonehenge. Even rolling that 25-ton stone would be taxing, to say the least. But Stone henge is not the only standing stone. This is but one of the hundreds of Mesolithic, Neolithic, and Bronze Age collaborations around the United Kingdom. Check out the map below.
The museum even had an exhibit with replicas of the huts of Mesolithic people. They were cylindrical with a cone roof and thatched with straw and sticks. Very simple homes, meant to keep out harsh conditions. These were also perfect for nomadic groups and these people were. They were not seeking to build towns that would last for centuries. Instead, they settled, built used the resources, and then moved on to another area in search of more. Reminds me of wildebeests. Ever migrating between the food sources. At the time, that was the only thing that concerned them, safety and food. With a lifespan of forty if you were lucky, they weren't planning voyages across the English Channel, they were focused on their community and staying alive! Standing stones have always been fascinating to modern men, with our lives having very little to do with such pagan ceremonies. But just like the pagans and druids of their time, we do celebrate the solstices. We may call it other things, such as Easter, Passover, Spring, Winter, Christmas, Yuletide, Kwanza, and Hogmanay to name a small collection of celebrations. All traditions of different cultures, religions, and regions of the world. But having that common bond while, different perhaps in the details, is our collective excitement for change, and from a New Englander's perspective, mostly changes in the weather. Places such as Florida, Southeast Asia, Mexico, and Los Angeles have no idea what we go through in the northern parts of the world.
Our trip had to continue if we were to make our plans before the main event. I visited the tourist trap one more time, purchasing a porcelain tea bag holder. A minute or two later we were on our merry way to Newbury, just about forty minutes away, from Stonehenge. I had picked this particular hotel because it happened to rest on the property of Lord and Lady Carnarvon of Highclere Castle or as you all would know it, the filming location of Downton Abbey. Before we would venture onto the property, we had to check into our room at the Carnarvon Arms and grab a bite to eat. The building was a beautiful cottage-style estate and boasted a large dining room with vaulted ceilings loaded with framed artwork of various colors. Everything on the menu looked amazing so we just picked anything and went for it.
Looking at the clock, we realized that we had run out of time and Highclere would have to wait. After all, it's not every day I'm only thirty-five minutes away from my dear friends, Aimee and Richard Lester. Residing in the quaint town of Bracknell, only a short distance from London, it was a perfect location for a meet-up. You may remember that at our first stop in England, we ate at The Stag and Hounds. They said that they could meet us somewhere in the middle and so we chose Reading. Reading was a larger town with a decent-sized mall called The Oracle. A mall that boasted smaller shopping lanes between its newer modern buildings. A rather brilliant mix of the old and the new, as most cities in England are. We looked to guidance from Aimee and Rich for food that Evening. Their favorite little spot was this Japanese restaurant with an amazing deal on Sushi, obviously, with a name like Sushimania, how could it be anything other? A name doesn't give a restaurant guaranteed success. This place was incredible. At 25 pounds a person, that's about $32 nowadays, but closer to $28 back in 2022, for all-you-can-eat for 2 hrs. Such an amazing deal! We were allowed to order 6 items at a time. As soon as one would drop on the table, we would put in another. Even though this was called sushimania, you could order wings, dumplings, soup, seaweed salad, and many other items. We had a wonderful time stuffing our faces and strolling around the mall. A real blast with our friends, we don't see nearly as often as we wish.
But as all good things must come to an end, we said our goodbyes and hopped into the car to venture back to our hotel. I needed my beauty sleep for the big event the following day.
What day, may you ask? Ah, it happens to be the 100th Anniversary of Tutankhamun's burial site discovery! If you didn't know, one of the contributors to its discovery in 1922, was none other than George Herbert, the 4th Earl of Carnarvon. Now if you have watched Downton you may have already noticed an Egyptian connection to the home. The fictitious Earl of Grantham always had a dog with an Egyptian name. Coincidence, I think not. The Earl not only loved the study of history, but by befriending Howard Carter, a famed Egyptologist, he would embark on a six-year journey to find King Tut in the Valley of the Kings. A find that would prove to be the biggest and most valuable discovery. A single layer of the late King's coffin was worth over a million pounds, and he was buried like a Russian nesting doll. Aside from the sarcophagus, he was also buried with many golden daggers, shields, chariots, and precious gemstones. King Tut may have died when he was 19, but he was buried like a Kardashian. To find this immense treasure was just the tip of the golden blade, this was of historical significance being the most intact burial tombs of a pharaoh ever found. Over the ages, most tombs had been robbed or destroyed by the weather, but buried in the sand, this was kept safe and preserved. While some of the art did decay over three thousand years, a majority was pristine. I can only imagine the double whiskey those two gentlemen shared after their 6-year hunt for Tut.
The party, unfortunately, did not last long. Just five months later, during the excavation, the Earl of Carnarvon was bit by a mosquito and died shortly after of Malaria. What makes it worse is that seven years later, the Egyptian government took control of the tomb and its contents. generously gifting the Earl's heirs 2.5 million pounds in today's money in compensation. Compared to the total value and how much they had put into locating and excavating the tomb, I'm sure it was a blow. At the same time, looking at it from the view of the Egyptian people, they had every right to want to keep the treasures of their ancestors in their country. And there they still sit on display at the Grand Egyptian Museum of Giza. That is, with a few exceptions. You see, the Earl, being a devout lover of history, or else why would have left his home in England to search for years for this tomb of a boy king, ended up keeping several collectibles from Tut's tomb. The best part is, they are located in the basement of Highclere Castle. While the show depicts the kitchen being in the basement, the actual home of the Earl was dedicated to his great love of history. If the current Lady and Lord Carnarvon had permitted, I would have surely taken pictures, but no pictures were allowed inside the property.
20221009_095437.mp4While we weren't allowed to show you pictures of the inside, I sure have a ton of pictures of the estate's exterior. The video I shared above shows us gradually driving up the road to the castle itself. The estate boasts 5,000 acres of land with plenty of room for several other notable structures such as the Jackdaws Castle. This would be remembered from the show where Edith goes to cry after the would-be ill-fated cousin from the Titanic turns out to not be a cousin at all, just ill-fated.
Driving out of the property you would come across a building, that would seem very similar to the one that appeared in the Kiera Knightly adaptation of Pride and Prejudice. Yes, the scene in which Elizabeth and Darcy fight about her sister's broken heart and Darcy tells Elizabeth that he loves her, "most ardently." Yeah, that one. Unfortunately, not the same temple. But I smiled and fondly dreamed over it while we pushed past it. While not famous the famous Temple of Diana from that movie, could be famous in another. It just so happens to be the Temple of Diana, named for the Goddess of wild animals and the hunt. And what a large hunting ground they had at Highclere.
I know, I know, you didn't open up my blog today to see the grounds or hear about King Tut. You wanted to hear about Downton or what we all consider Downton when we see this marvelous castle. Now while it may look like a Gothic Castle, it was built in 749 with beautiful gardens and a large palace granted to the Bishop of Winchester by most likely King Beonna of East Anglia. Naturally, time passed, and in 1679 it was rebuilt, and then again in the mid-18th century. This time it was transformed into a neo-classical Georgian. But they weren't done. In the mid 19th century when the current Earl decided to make a project on the estate, he hired Sir Barry. Sir Barry was the designer of one of the most famous buildings in England, the Houses of Parliament. You can see the similarities as plain as the nose on your face.
This is of both the posterior(above) and anterior(below) view of the Castle. To stand in front of it, was one of the most exciting moments of my traveling life. It's simply beautiful in person. Wait, what's the tent for? I'm so glad you asked. Since it is the 100th Anniversary of the discovery of King Tut, and they throw a party every summer at the Castle anyway, the current Earl and Countess decided to kick it up a notch. Enter the camels! Yes, this was no ordinary party. From the moment you arrived, you were transported back to 1922, to Egypt no less. A handful of "Egyptologists" were there to show off their skill. They even made a sandpit where actors, costumed for the times, pretended to dig throughout the day. They weren't the only ones dressed up. Nick and I had spent months putting our costumes together and we played the part well. Many people thought we were part of the show. Aside from the live actors, there were several tents to the side of the castle that were used for historical timelines, several artifacts from WWI and WWII, and a large tent at the back of the castle that was intended for several historians who came to speak on the Great King. Best of all, they would have 1920's jazz dancers come in donned costumes to dance between the speakers. The best speaker of all, of course, was none of them than the famed author, Lady Carnarvon. As someone without a noble lineage, she was surely thrust into this life and took the bull by the horns. She not only learned the history of her husband's ancestry but became an author showcasing it. Having Downton Abbey filmed at their home was just a bonus. Of course, it was quite a hectic scene during filming, but the money from the show helped keep up the estate and allowed us all a chance to gawk at it in person. Lady Carnarvon was a delightful person who I was so excited to not only meet but have signed a copy of her book, The Earl and the Pharoah. She loved our costumes and went as far as to say that if they had given an award for best costume, we would have won. She also said to come back next year and maybe she would have that in place by then. I wish, but alas, Switzerland was on the agenda.
After we said adieu to the Countess, we enjoyed our fabulous afternoon tea. An afternoon tea, if you do not know, consists of tea, finger sandwiches, and desserts. The presentation at the event was so elevated, that it made me feel like a guest at the Oscars with our bottle of bubbly and champagne glasses in our perfectly stocked kit. Along with the champagne, we had cucumber, chicken salad, and egg salad sandwiches, and an assortment of tarts and cakes. It was perfect! With only a small bottle, I decided to bring it home and instead, we grabbed a cocktail, Highclere gin for me, and whiskey for Nick. We needed something to wash down the delectables. Now that our bellies were full, we needed to stroll. We headed to the front where they had landed an old helicopter and had several very expensive cars from history. From the standard farmer's vehicle to a few Rolls Royce's. If I ever were to get a car to flaunt my wealth, it would probably be a Rolls-Royce, circa 1940.
Thirty minutes or so had passed and our time to take a tour of the building had arrived. I held my breath as I walked through the massive oak doors. I could picture, Lady Grantham, Lord Grantham, the girls, and then the entire staff lining the walk to the door. I had been waiting for this moment for 11 years. It was breathtaking, yes, that's my only word, breathtaking. In June 2019, I visited the Downton Abbey exhibit in Boston. An exhibit showing off the actor's clothing sets from the show, and detailed descriptions of how the real people may have lived. But to walk into the real cathedral-ceiling saloon was overwhelming. I could see Tom up in the gallery looking down at the saloon with Ms. Bunting. Soon there would be an immense Christmas Tree decked out in tinsel and large strings of lights. I hear they do a lovely Christmas event. Between High and Hogwarts Christmas at Warner Brothers Studio, I've got a lot of boxes to check off.
To the left of the saloon, we walked into the double library. A room featured ever so often throughout the period drama. The family gathered here to read the paper, handle their finances, have cocktails, and sit by the fire. The grand staircase that we had to pass to reach the library was just as famous. I couldn't help it, I needed to climb the stairs, and so I did. Wearing a beautiful coral flapper gown, I felt like a princess. That may be the closest I will ever get to feeling that marvelous again. As a thirty-eight-year-old woman from Rhode Island, it wasn't very often that I had the chance to feel like royalty. The tour allowed us access to only certain sections of the estate as this was the full-time home of the Earl and Countess. Following my ascension from the staircase, a real Mary moment, following the ropes, we entered the kitchen. Naturally, it was not the same caliber as the kitchen from the show. This kitchen was far superior, with a good hundred years of technology and comforts on it. We hadn't gone into the kitchen to grab a bite to eat though, the kitchen led to the basement of the home or as many would call it, the museum. Down a couple of connected stairways, we stepped down into the Egyptian exhibit below. It was moist and almost cave-like. Dark and dank, just like I love. Yes, call me weird, I don't care. I love moldy basements, I guess. The glass cases were gently lit to show off the priceless artifacts inside. Appearing to have only been made yesterday with artful restoration and care for their well, they would be around to be admired for generations to come. The museum ended as most do leading to a hallway that offered a cafe of sorts for refreshments at the end. We grabbed another and then headed back outside.
A gentle stroll among the gardens led us through great green arbor arches, sculpted by master gardeners. Past the greenhouses and endless arrays of shrubbery, roses, peonies, and the classic wildflowers of England. We ended up down at a very famous tree. A tree that could only be called Mary's tree, from its endless scenes of love, sadness, and betrayal on Mary's part. The sun began to set, and my feet were too sweet, so we took at the end of a perfect day and an amazing trip. Between the Iron Age, Medieval, Neolithic, Georgian, Victorian, Edwardian, and even Elizabethan, we have surely traveled through time on this two-week trip around Southern England. We can't wait to bring you around Scotland this summer. So, stay tuned, and in the meantime, play around on the blog, click the red links, and get to know England's fantastic history a little more.
www.putapininit.blog
Page updated
Google Sites
Report abuse