Games of Thrones : Wallingford & Ewelme

Since the ice ages, the Thames in Oxfordshire has flowed south towards Reading and onto London through the Goring Gap, which separates the Chilterns from the North Wessex Downs. Being deep and wide enough to be navigable for much of its length meant that it was always a major transport route, but also presented a barrier to those travelling on foot. 

This all made it something of a gyre in early English history. What follows is based on notes from one of my cycle routes on pootler.co.uk, but serves equally well for a quick visit by whatever means suits you. 

Wallingford lies at the centre of the area where the river enters the Gap, and which was crossed by land routes used since time immemorial, including the ancient trackways, the Roman roads and the later tollroads. But the key is that, throughout the year, and especially if you had a few thousand heavily armed and malodorous pals with you, it was the best place to ford the river. 

The Thames in flood at Wallingford

Convenient, that is, but unreliable. The river level can rise. Much earlier, shortly after the turn of the first millennium, Swein Forkbeard lost much of a Danish Viking army when they tried to cross here. That might have been a cause for celebration thereabouts. John of Wallingford, writing some two centuries later, tells us that the  Danes were unpopular, not just because of their taste for loot and revenge, but "thanks to their habit of combing their hair every day, of bathing every Saturday and regularly changing their clothes, were able to undermine the virtue of married women and even seduce the daughters of nobles to be their mistresses".  

Forkbeard

Then, Wallingford was one of the fortified towns or 'burhs' built earlier by King Alfred to protect Wessex from the Danes. Now, it is one of England's biggest and best preserved of those towns; the earth ramparts and ditches which now encircle it date back to that time. They are best seen from the Parks adjoining Croft Road and St George's Road. The banks would have originally been considerably taller and the ditches deeper, but they are still impressive. 

The outline and layout of the old Saxon Town is still easily discernible from aerial photos today. The dark green ring is the ramparts.  

Wallingford from the Air

William the Conqueror crossed the Thames here, following his victory at Hastings. He didn't want to tackle London directly (coz we wuz well 'ard? ) but aimed to encircle it by heading north towards Berkhamsted, where what was left of the Saxon royalty was holed up and surrendered without a fight. 

It was William who later commissioned the Castle, which would have started life as a simple 'motte & bailey' construction. It perhaps reached the zenith as a venue for four major English slugfests: 

* The Anarchy: Stephen vs Matilda. 

* The Barons' War: Henry 3rd vs Simon de Montfort 

* The War of the Roses: Richard 3rd vs Henry 7th

* Civil War:  Charles 1st vs Olly & his Roundheads. 

Maybe the first of these was its strategic zenith. It was the stronghold of the Empress Matilda, daughter of Henry 1st, during her struggle for the Crown with her cousin Stephen.  

You can replay this if you want! See:   Age of Empires :The Siege of Wallingford

A generation and after much death and destruction, and perhaps a bit of family counselling wouldn’t have gone amiss, their dispute was settled in the ‘Treaty of Wallingford’. Stephen became King, with Matilda’s son by her 2nd husband, a Mr Plantagenet, becoming his successor as Henry II. As a tip, he gave Wallingford rights and freedoms comparable to those enjoyed by London. 

Wallingford Castle. As was.
A Model.  

Wallingford Castle : As is

There wasn't a bridge here until early in the 12th century, which made it easier for those armed and malodorous hordes to cross, which they did regularly. Bits of the original bridge remain, much altered. 

Wallingford Bridge

The existence of the bridge and castle underlined its strategic importance. In 1215, it was one of only four towns mentioned in the Magna Carta. Many Monarchs subsequently stayed at the Castle and, notoriously,  it was the hangout of Edward 1st supposed lover, Piers Gaveston; so maybe it also deserves a place in LGBQ histories. 

Scroll forward to the 1600s and the Civil War between Parliament and King Charles. It was rather dilapidated, so the Royalists rapidly refortified it. At the same time, Parliamentary forces led by Fairfax besieged the town and built their own earthworks, some of which were sited on the opposite side of the River, where there is now a small park. Frankly, you could have used a peashooter from there, but by that time, cannons were more widely used and effective in sieges, because cannon balls are heavier than peas. 

The Siege of Wallingford

The Castle eventually surrendered, and the Parliamentary forces promptly reduced its walls to prevent reuse, with a lot of the stonework being used for the local churches. What you see now is mainly the remaining chunks of the walls, surrounding a landscaped garden. If you want more details on the story of the castle, Wikipedia is a good starting point.  If you plan to visit see:  Wallingford Castle & Gardens   

It is also worth following the course of the old Saxon fortifications just to get a sense of their extent. Within them, the atmospheric old town is centred on the old Town Hall in the marketplace. It was built in 1670, with a timber frame and stucco to make it look swankier than it actually was, and is described by the Council as 'decadent'. I haven't a clue what that meant. Also, there is a decorated Victorian Corn Exchange and a little Museum which also highlights the town's most famous recent resident, Agatha Christie. 

Wallingford Town Centre

Ewelme - Chaucer & Jerome K Jerome

Ewelme (pronounced Ewe-ulm) is lovely, and on top of that, the shop in the village centre also serves as a café with a nice place to sit outside overlooking the 'oldest primary school in continuing use in England'. 

Odd name. In the Domesday Book, Ewelme appears as Auuilme, which apparently means 'powerful spring'. For obvious reasons, people liked to settle where there was fresh running water, and hereabouts this meant where the springs emerge at the base of the chalk escarpment.   

Ewelme's significance in medieval times owed much to two families who grew from rags to riches. William De La Pole, later the Duke of Suffolk, was the great-grandson of a wealthy wool merchant who helped to finance the wars of the early Plantagenet Kings and whose devious and deadly doings inspired 'Game of Thrones'. William settled in Ewelme and married Alice, the granddaughter of Geoffrey Chaucer of 'Canterbury Tales' fame. He was her third husband, having been hitched to her first when aged only eleven and having seen the first two die in the interminable wars with France.  

De La Pole.    Poseur.

Their family had more ups and downs than the Blackpool Roller Coaster, which, as you know,  was until recently the tallest in the world. William's Dad was killed at the siege of Harfluer in the 100 Years' War, and his brother Michael copped it at Agincourt only a few months later. William himself survived long enough to be captured by Joan of Arc and imprisoned in France, but not before he had fathered an illegitimate child after a bit of nun-fun.

The Execution of Suffolk 
c/o The Bard 

Once home, he assumed a diplomatic career, negotiating the loss of England's French territories as part of a marriage deal for the useless Henry V1. He was made the scapegoat and, after a stay in the economy suite at the Tower of London, had his head forcibly detached by a rusty sword while on a boat on his way into exile. It washed up on Dover Beach. 

Alice herself was an intelligent, cultured and determined survivor. She had married De La Pole aged 26, and, after his death, became the Castellan at Wallingford. Her volatile relationship with the Crown led to her getting the Order of the Garter, a rare honour for a woman, but then having to lend the king a fortune to avoid losing her position and her extensive properties. It was understandable that she opted to change sides and support the Yorkists once the Wars of the Roses kicked off. 

But things did not get better for her brood. The Yorkists lost the war, so some followed their father's ill-fated sally across the Channel. Their subsequent involvement in plots to invade England didn't endear them to Henry V111, and they never returned. The consolation prize came late, when a century or so later, William got a major role in Shakespeare's 'Henry V1'. But the Bard didn't change the ending. 

Alice is buried in the Church in Ewelme. It is almost 600 years old and, unlike many, didn't subsequently suffer the attentions of Victorian modernisers. Her tomb has a visible and gruesome 'stone cadaver' underneath her more conventional effigy. Take a look, as did Queen Victoria, who apparently wanted to find out how a lady should wear the Order of the Garter. It is worth noting, ladies, if you anticipate having that dilemma. 

Alice : The Stone Cadaver

Generally, the De La Poles seem to have been a treacherous, corrupt, generally unpleasant and infectiously unlucky lot, and Alice herself was no angel; she would go to some lengths to get whatever she wanted. But they did fund the almshouses behind the church, which are worth a look; at the same age as the church, they are reckoned to be among the very oldest dwellings in continued use in the country. If you want a bit more detail, see: (Link) Fordsfarm : Ewelme History

In the graveyard outside the church, you can find the grave of Jerome K Jerome, the author of 'Three Men in a Boat'.  He was also a self-made man, but made a good living writing and ended up with the exorbitant honour of becoming a freeman of Walsall. Incidentally, the 'K' stands for Klapka. His siblings fared no better. One sister was called Blandina, his brother was Milton Melancthon, and his Father's middle name was Clapp; not a good name for a Reverend in those censorious times.

Until 1988, the clear chalk stream through the village supported watercress beds, which were traditionally harvested in time to serve as a supplement to the winter diet. The brick-walled beds were restored by the Chilterns Society and, while they are rarely open to the public, can be seen from the road in places. 

Just outside Ewelme, you find RAF Benson airfield. The airfield location has some history. The Anglo Saxon Chronicle recorded that in 777:

'her Cynewulf & Offa gefuhton ymb Benesingtun & Offa nam pone tuun' 

Just in case your Old English isn't up to scratch, that means that the King of Mercia, Offa of Dyke fame, duffed up the West Saxons hereabouts; a victory that resulted in Wessex recognising Mercian overlordship. 

In World War Two, it was a base for Wellington and Mosquito bombers and Spitfires. Now, it is a helicopter base, with Puma and Merlin HC3 helicopters. That seems odd to me. How much space do you need to land a helicopter? 

RAF Benson. 

If you are feeling vigorous, extend your tour to Dorchester, five miles to the north. 

The Thames at Dorchester

This place is so old it can afford to be almost contemptuous of its history. The village makes no great show of its adjacent Bronze, Iron Age and Roman relics and the site of a Stone Age 'henge' and cursus, just to the north of the village, was casually destroyed for gravel pits. Fanciful archaeologists reckon that the cursus there would have been sacred, but I think it could equally well have been a landing zone for UFOs. Who knows? 

In the Medieval period, the town lived, thrived and then died on the back of its religious role. In Saxon times, it was the Bishopric for both Wessex and Mercia and was the most important place in Wessex, until its role passed to Winchester after the Norman Conquest. Later, in the reformation, Henry VIII dissolved the Catholic Abbey, but there is still an old 'Abbey Church' here, with a small museum which opens in the balmy months.  

Shortly before you reach the Abbey, the White Hart is an original Coaching Inn dating back to the 15th c., when the town was on the main road from Gloucester through Oxford to London. The George, further down the High Street, is another.   

A few hundred yards down to the river takes you to Day's Lock, the venue for the annual World Pooh Sticks Championship.

Pooh Sticks Athletes

On the way to the River, you will have passed the substantial remains of a major Bronze Age settlement and Iron Age fort, the rest of which has been heavily damaged by ploughing, although the markings of old buildings and burial mounds can be seen in aerial photos. There are also some field systems dating back to the Bronze Age. This is quite dry stuff, but if you are interested, here is a link to some research: Bronze Age Dorchester

Maybe the location of this fort is explained by its position on the borders between the pre-Roman Dobunni, Atrebates and Catevallauni tribes. The hills you can see on the other side of the river are Wittenham Clumps, topped by an Iron Age fortified enclosure. Was this a counterpoint to the fortifications at the Lock? 

These are Oxfordshire's Twin Peaks, not only because there are two of them, albeit not very peaky, but because they are regarded as being a bit strange. Locals with less respect for the magic of antiquity referred to the clumps as 'Mother Dunch's Buttocks'. Mrs Dunch was apparently the unpopular wife of a medieval squire. 

All in all, a small area that is a palimpsest of English history!