What I really admire are people who, through their sheer brain power, can change our views of the world. The first example that comes to mind is Newton’s insight that if the universe were infinite, the night sky would not be dark as everywhere there would be tiny pinpricks of starlight. So, we don’t live in a infinite universe. Another one is Einstein’s thought experiment that proves that time is relative. But see below for a description of that. But, now to John Goodricke and the Variable Star. (for Newton and the Maypole see my post here).
Goodricke
Last year in York, near the Minster, I saw the blue sign above. I thought, what on earth are ‘variable stars’? Behind me, I heard two women say something like. ‘Here it is,”variable stars”‘. I turned around and asked them what was a variable star?
‘Donno’ they said, ‘we’ve ‘just doing this escape room walk around York.’ They showed me a booklet they had received on the internet,. This is what I would call a treasure trail. Sadly, they showed no interest in finding out what a variable star is!
Aristotle and ancient philosophers held that the universe was unchanging and eternal. The first breach in that theory was the identification in 1638 of star Omicron Ceti. Johannes Holwarda discovered that the star pulsed on an 11-month cycle. This and the discovery, of supernovae (first observed in 1572), proved that the ‘The starry sky was not eternally invariable’. But there was, as yet, no explanation for the phenomena.
John Goodricke was educated at Thomas Braidwood‘s Academy, school for deaf pupils in Edinburgh, and Warrington Academy. He returned to live with his parents, who rented an apartment at the Treasurer’s Hall. This is near the Minister in York. He used a friend’s personal observatory to look for variable stars. He found two of the first 10, and was the first to propose a solution. This was that two stars orbited each other causing eclipses between them and the observer. Thus creating a variation in the light emitted. To be able to extrapolate from a simple observation, and provide an explanation which necessitates a complete rethink about the nature of the universe seems, to me, to be awesome.
Einstein’s Thought Experiment
Back to Einstein, his thought experiment was something like this:
A train is travelling through a station. There is an observer on the train towards the front, another on the platform as the train goes through. There are two simultaneous lighting strikes at either end of the train. The observer on the platform sees the strikes as simultaneous. Why? Because she is in the middle between the two lighting strikes and light travels at the same speed. The observer on the train who is near the front of the train will see the lighting strike at the front of the train before the light from the strike at the back of the train can reach him. It has further to go.
This means that time is not a constant, it is relative to the observer. And yet, we think of time as a constant, something that remorselessly ticks forward and which we cannot alter. But it isn’t.
On September 15th 1940 Ray Holmes, World War 2 RAF Pilot, flying a Hurricane, took on three Luftwaffe Bombers over Central London. He shot one down, chased another off and engaged the third which seemed to be heading for Buckingham Palace.
Between the 8th and 13th of September 1940, the Palace had been hit 5 times. The London Blitz had only ‘begun’ on September 7th though the first raid on the City of London was on the 25th August on Fore Street.
Holmes, by now had ran out of bullets, but deliberately targeted the fin of the Dornier Bomber, and crashed into it causing the bomber to crash down into Victoria Station. Holmes’ Hurricane, spiralled down out of control, but he was able to bail out and landed in a dustbin, much to the bemusement of the locals. Holmes died aged 90 in 2005.
This post is heavily based on the story below, where it is told in full detail.
A silhouette of a Zeppelin caught in searchlights over the City of London
On the night of September 8th, 32 year old, Kapitanleutnant Heinrich Mathy piloted Zeppelin L 13 across Central London, dropping bombs as he went. This was the most damaging airship raid of the war.
Background to the War
Before World War One London was the centre of the largest Empire the world had ever known. It was the first great era of globalisation; international trade and finance was booming. London was full of the mega-rich, but poverty and substandard housing was extensive. Such extremes of rich and poor have only recently began to appear in our society.
Inner London was still the home of Industry, and home to large immigrant communities. Political dissent was widespread, with the Labour Party beginning to erode the Liberal Party’s power base. The issue of Female Suffrage was rocking society. Then, catastrophe struck as ‘the lights went out all over Europe’.
The Hague Convention in 1899 banned bombing from balloons or other aerial craft. But as the aircraft and air balloons developed, the threat moved from theoretical to actual. Zeppelins could undertake long flights at a speed of up to 47 mph. They could ascend and descend quicker than winged aircraft and achieve higher altitudes. The gas that held up the Zeppelins was held in over 200,000 bags of cattle intestines. The huge number needed in the war effort led to a shortage of sausages in Germany! But it also made them very difficult to be shot down with the technology available to Britain, France and Russia.
The Kaiser originally forbade bombing raids on London in deference to his relatives, the British Royal Family. But he progressively reduced restrictions until he allowed bombing of London itself. He first allowed bombing of the London docks on February 12th 1915, and on May 5th allowed London, East of the Tower of London to be bombed. The first Zeppelin raid on London took place on 31st May 1915. On July 20th, he allowed unrestricted bombing of London (albeit sparing historical and religious buildings).
On the 8th September, 1915 Mathy crossed the North Sea to the coast at King’s Lyne. He arrived at 8.45pm. The aircraft came South via Cambridge, Ware, circled to the North East of London and via Golders Green. Here he dropped 12 bombs at 10.40., and followed the Finchley Road to Primrose Hill, Regent’s Park. Over Euston he was at 8,500 ft, and slowed down to 37 mph.
The first incendiary bomb in Central London landed just north of Russell Square at Woburn Place. The next one landed in the garden in the middle of Russell Sq. He dropped his first Central London explosive bomb in the garden in the centre of Queen’s Square, near the Great Ormond St Hospital, where it is marked with a plaque. He was turning east along the Theobald’s Road where he dropped a number of bombs. One hitting the National Penny Bank killing a person standing outside. Another landed on the nearby Dolphin pub, blowing out the front of the pub and killing someone standing there. If you visit the Pub, on the wall you will see the clock that was stopped when the bomb exploded (10:40pm).
The next strike was on a cycle club, to the West of Gray’s inn. Then Gray’s Inn itself. At Portpool Lane his incendiary bombs killed three children and injured 25 others.
Maxim Gun
Near here are the workshops where Hiram Maxim developed the Maxim Gun that killed so many in the trenches in WW1. Unfortunately, the design was not kept as a state secret and in the War No Man’s Land was being strafed by British, French, German, Russian and later in American versions of the same gun. He had the idea for it when as a child his shoulder was broken by the recoil of a shotgun. He realised that the recoil could be used to load the next bullet. This created a machine gun that was far superior to the Gatling Gun.
A Bomb called the Love Gift
Hatton Garden and Farringdon were also hit, and the Zeppelin continued to Smithfield. The Zeppelin had one 660 lb bomb on board. Mathy’s ‘Love Gift’ fell on St Bartholomew’s Close. It shattered all the building fronts and killed 2 men running for cover when they emerged from a pub.
The Zeppelin kept north of St Paul’s and next bombed City workshops and warehouses in Wood St, Addle St, Basinghall St and Aldermanbury – just missing the historic Guildhall. He also failed to bomb the Bank of England which was a mere 300 yards south,
Searchlights were now scouring the sky and anti-aircraft guns were firing, but they were ;all firing too low’. An American reporter, William Shepherd wrote:
‘Among the autumn stars floats a long gaunt Zeppelin. It is dull yellow – the colour of the Harvest Moon. The long fingers of searchlights, reaching up from the roofs of the city are touching all sides of the death messenger with their white tips. Great, booming sounds shake the city. They are Zeppelin bombs falling- killing – burning. Lesser noises – of shooting – are nearer at hand, the noise of aerial guns sending shrapnel into the sky.’
The final bombs were released over Liverpool Street. Just by the station, an explosive bomb hit a No 35a bus, wounding the driver and killing the conductor and some of the passengers. Another bomb landed by a No 8 bus, killing the driver and 8 passengers.
Mathy turned north towards Edmonton and climbed to over 11,000 ft as an anti-aircraft gun on Parliament Hill put a shell uncomfortably close to the Zeppelin. He returned safely to Germany where he reported to the Kaiser. The raid killed 17 people, injured 78 and caused half a million pounds worth of damage. It was the most effective raid of the war.
The authorities in Britain were faced with a stark reality which was that a single German Airship could fly through the heart of Britain, into its Capital and bomb its people without any defensive measures capable of resisting attack. Although when we consider the horrors of civilian deaths in the 20th and 21st Centuries, the shock of random attacks on civilians should not be underestimated.
I will conclude Kapitanleutnant Heinrich Mathy’s story on October 1st, and add more images to this page.
Thanks to Ian Castle and his book ‘London 1914-17 ‘The Zeppelin Menace.
September 3rd was Cromwell’s Lucky Day. This was because it was the date of two of his most famous victories. On September 3rd 1658 he refused to accept that he was dying because it was his lucky day. Unluckily, he was wrong.
The Battle of Dunbar September 3rd 1650
Engraving of Charles I
After the execution of King Charles I, the Scots chose Charles II as their King. This changed the Scots from allies of the English Parliament to enemies. The Lord General of the New Model Army, Thomas Fairfax, refused to lead an attack on their erstwhile allies. So Oliver Cromwell was promoted to command. He launched a preemptive attack but the army was ill prepared, and the campaign seemed in danger of failing. They took Arthur’s seat and bombarded Edinburgh and Leith from its heights. But they could not take Edinburgh.
In need of supplies, Cromwell retreated to Dunbar, which is on the North Sea, close to the Firth of Forth. The Scots advanced on Dunbar, and Cromwell came out to meet them. After a hard battle, the English Calvary outflanked the Scots and the Battle was won. Pride, Monk, Lilburne and Lambert were all involved in the Battle. Cromwell claimed to have killed 4,000 Scots and captured 10,000. Scottish sources suggested over 1,000 Scottish casualties and 5,000 prisoners.
The Battle enabled Cromwell to seize control of Edinburgh, and Leith. So he could then cross the First of Forth and attack Fife, where he was also successful.
Cromwell interpreted the overwhelming victory as a
“A high act of the Lord’s Providence to us [and] one of the most signal mercies God hath done for England and His people”.[ (Wikipedia)
Meanwhile, the Scottish Army marched South in to England. in an attempt to raise the support of English Royalists. King Charles II was now with them, They hoped Cromwell would be held up in Fife, but he wasn’t. He secured Perth and put General Monck in charge in Scotland. Lambert was sent to harrass the Scottish Army as they marched south. Meanwhile, Cromwell forced marched his way to the Tyne. General Harrison had collected fresh troops from Newcastle and joined Cromwell. Thomas Fairfax came out of retirement and raised troops in Yorkshire. The Southern troops were collected at Banbury by General Fleetwood. 14,000 militia men from the trained bands of London joined the march to intercept the Scottish Invasion.
The Battle of Worcester September 3rd 1651
The decisive battle took place at Worcester, which the Royalist occupied. It was an unusual battle in that it took place on both sides of the River Severn. Cromwell delayed the start of the battle to build two pontoon bridges. This meant he could reinforce his troops on either side of the River. It also delayed the start of the battle to his lucky day.
The pontoon bridges proved decisive. The Parliamentary side had over 30,000 troops while the Royalists only 16,000. Cromwell could shore up besieged formation with troops from the other side of the River. The Royalists were pushed back to the High Street. Here, they rallied to allow King Charles II to escape. And that was the end of the Second English Civil War. (The first being the defeat of Charles I, the second the defeat of Charles II).
Charles II made a hair-raising escape from England, hiding in an Oak Tree. Eventually, finding a ship on the South Coast at Shoreham, in Dorset to take him into a long exile. (see my post on Charles’ escape here🙂
Of the Scottish army, perhaps 3,000 men were killed and 10,000 taken prisoners. Some prisoners were conscripted into the New Model Army and sent to fight in Ireland. Many of the rest (perhaps up to 8,000) were forced into indentured labour. They were sent to New England, Bermuda, the West Indies or the Fens. Others were taken to London and detained in prison camps. One of which was at Tothill Fields in Westminster. Conditions were often appalling, leading to death by disease and malnutrition.
American Presidents pay their respects to the ‘famous’ Battlefield.
John Adams and Thomas Jefferson visited the site of the Battle in 1786. Adams reported:
‘The people in the neighborhood appeared so ignorant and careless at Worcester that I was provoked and asked “And do Englishmen so soon forget the ground where liberty was fought for? Tell your neighbors and your children that this is holy ground, much holier than that on which your churches stand. All England should come in pilgrimage to this hill, once a year”‘
And indeed will now only see the battle as one of the many battles of the Civil War. Generally, we are not aware of its special significance.
Cromwell’s Death September 3rd 1658.
By now, the Monarch in all but name, Cromwell, the Lord Protector fell ill, probably of malaria. Then, when weakened, his kidney stone infection turned to septicemia. On August 30th, there was a mighty storm, the like Europe had not seen for hundreds of years. And there was talk of the Lord taking him away in the furious storm. As he weakened he was asked to name his successor. He appeared to affirm when the name of his son Richard was spoken to him. But, it wasn’t very clear. He rallied, perhaps hoping that if he could survive to September 3rd, he would overcome his illness.
On the day, he said to his doctors ‘I tell you I shall not die this hour; I am sure on’t …. I speak the Words of Truth upon surer grounds than Galen and Hippocrates furnish you with.’
But he died on his lucky day. He was given a splendid funeral and was buried in state among the Kings and Queens in Westminster Abbey. And then in 1660 dug up, executed posthumously at Tyburn and buried under the Gibbet.
The Master of St Giles, National Gallery. ‘St Giles and the Hind’ This work is in the public domain in its country of origin and other countries and areas where the copyright term is the author’s life plus 100 years or fewer.
St Giles
Today, is St Giles’ Feast Day. His story is mostly unknown, but his legend holds that he was a hermit who had a pet Hind in the Arles District of France sometime after the fall of the Roman Empire. The hounds of King Wamba (a Visigothic King) were chasing the deer, and shot an arrow into the undergrowth. The King and his men followed to discover Giles wounded by the arrow, protecting the hind, who he held in his arms. The hounds were miraculously stayed motionless as they leaped towards the hind. Wamba, which apparently means ‘Big paunch’ in Gothic, also had a Roman name: Flavius. Giles was injured in the leg, although the image above shows the arrow hit his hand. Wamba set him up as an Abbot of a Benedictine Monastery.
St Giles is, therefore, the patron saint of disabled people. He is also also invoked for childhood fears, convulsions and depression. He was very popular in medieval Britain, with over 150 churches dedicated to him, including four in London. Perhaps the two most famous are St Giles Without Cripplegate in London and St Giles Cathedral in Edinburgh.
St Giles Cripplegate, photographed by the Author at night from the Barbican Centre.
St Giles Cripplegate
St Giles was built in the 11th Century, rebuilt in the 14th Century and again in 1545-50 after nearly being destroyed by fire. It survived the Great Fire of London, being just beyond the extent of the Fire. But it was badly damaged in the Blitz, although the Tower and the outer walls survived.
Oliver Cromwell married Elizabeth Bourchier here. John Foxe of the Book of Martyrs, John Speed, the Cartographer, Martin Frobisher, the explorer and John Milton, the Poet were buried here.
Shenanigans with Milton’s Coffin
Milton’s coffin was opened in 1793 and he was said to have looked as if he had just been buried. One of those present, then, had a go at pulling Milton’s teeth out. A bystander helped by hitting his jaw with a stone. The few teeth Milton had left in his head were divided between the men, who also took a rib bone and locks of his hair. The Caretaker then opened the coffin for anyone who wanted to see the corpse!
From the London City Wall Trail.
Cripplegate
St Giles is without Cripplegate. It is one of the Gates in the City Wall (originally the North Gate of the Roman Fort). It may be named because St Giles made it agood place to gather for those trying to beg alms for their disabilities. An alternative explanation it from the Anglo Saxon crepel, which is an underground tunnel which is said to have run from the Gate’s Barbican to the Gate. Or perhaps because of the cure of cripples when Edmund the Martyr’s remains passed through the Gate in 1010.
The Corner Tower of the London City Wall, the Barbican in the background, and the tower of St Giles’ Church behind the Tower. Photo by the author
First Published in September 2024, and revised in 2025.
Kalendar of Shepherds illustration of September showing harvesting grapes and the astrological signs for Virgo (August 23 – September 22) and Libra (September 23 – October 22)
It is that time of the year when you say ‘Where has the Summer gone? It can’t be September already?’ But, meteorology, speaking, Autumn starts today. September 1st was chosen on a numerical basis for ease of measuring rather than any profound floral, agricultural or solar reason. So, there are three Gregorian Calendar months for each season, and each season starts on the first of the month. Autumn: September, November and December.
Autumn, Harvest, Fall
Autumn comes from Latin (autumnus) which went into French and then into English. The season was also called Harvest (which went into Dutch herfst, German Herbst, and Scots hairst -Wikipedia) or from the 16th Century: the ‘fall of the year’ or ‘fall of the leaf’ which spread to America as Fall.
Summer’s Ending
It still feels like summer. In England, we often have a glorious September, and what we can an ‘Indian’ Summer, an unexpectedly warm period in mid-September to October.
Solar Autumn
Of course, for the real Autumn, we have to wait for the Equinox, the beginning of Astronomical or Solar Autumn. This year, it is on Monday, September 22nd, 2025, 7:19 pm.
Astrological September
The star signs for astrological September are: Virgo which is linked to Aphrodite (Venus) the Goddess of Love and Libra which is linked to Artemis (Diana), virgin goddess of many things, including hunting, wild animals, children, and birth.
Star signs for September
September
September gets its name from the Romans, for whom it was the 7th Month of the year (septem is Latin for seven). Later, they added two new months so it became our 9th Month. (For more on the Roman year, look at my post here).
It is called Halegmonath in the early English language, or the holy month, named because it is the month of offerings, because of the harvest, and the mellow fruitfulness of September? Medi in Welsh is the month of reaping, and An Sultuine in Gaelic which means the month of plenty.
Roman personification of Autumn from Lullingstone mosaic
Early Modern September and the autumn of Life
Here is an early 17th Century look at September from the Kalendar of Shepherds – for more on the Kalendar, look at my post here.
From the Kalendar of Shepherds
The Kalendar has an additional shorter look at September (see below). And it continues with its theme, linking the 12 months of the year with the lifespan of a man – 6 years for each month. So September is a metaphor for man at 56 years of age, in their prime and preparing for old age.
September from the Kalendar of Shepherds. The last sentence beginning ‘and then is man’ shows the link between September and the beginning of the autumn of life.
Season of ‘mists and mellow fruitfulness‘
John Keats (1795 – 1821) wrote a great poem called ‘To Autumn’:
Season of mists and mellow fruitfulness, Close bosom-friend of the maturing sun; Conspiring with him how to load and bless With fruit the vines that round the thatch-eves run; To bend with apples the moss’d cottage-trees, And fill all fruit with ripeness to the core; To swell the gourd, and plump the hazel shells With a sweet kernel; to set budding more, And still more, later flowers for the bees, Until they think warm days will never cease, For summer has o’er-brimm’d their clammy cells.
Who hath not seen thee oft amid thy store? Sometimes whoever seeks abroad may find Thee sitting careless on a granary floor, Thy hair soft-lifted by the winnowing wind; Or on a half-reap’d furrow sound asleep, Drowsed with the fume of poppies, while thy hook Spares the next swath and all its twined flowers: And sometimes like a gleaner thou dost keep Steady thy laden head across a brook; Or by a cider-press, with patient look, Thou watchest the last oozings, hours by hours.
Where are the songs of Spring? Ay, where are they? Think not of them, thou hast thy music too,— While barred clouds bloom the soft-dying day, And touch the stubble-plains with rosy hue; Then in a wailful choir the small gnats mourn Among the river sallows, borne aloft Or sinking as the light wind lives or dies; And full-grown lambs loud bleat from hilly bourn; Hedge-crickets sing; and now with treble soft The redbreast whistles from a garden-croft, And gathering swallows twitter in the skies.
Written September 19, 1819; first published in 1820. This poem is in the public domain and available here:
Battle of Crécy Jean Froissart’s Chronicles (Wikipedia)
The Battle of Crécy was one of the most decisive victories in the Middle Ages. Events began with King Philip VI of France declaring the English land in France forfeit. Henry, Earl of Derby made significant gains in Gascony for King Edward III but then was besieged by the French. He demanded support from the English King.
So King Edward gathered an army and landed in Normandy. It was the largest invasion force until D-Day.
Edward burnt his way to Paris. Within 2 miles of Paris Edward was confronted by superior forces and trapped on the wrong side of the Somme. His army was starved by the French scorched earth policy.
The English, only 6 miles away from the French Army forced their way across a defended tidal ford. Here they broke into an area which had not been scorched and were able to resupply. This success also restored English moral as the French defenders could not stand against the longbow men.
Sketch of statue of Edward III from Westminster Abbey
King Edward set up a defensive position at Crecy-en-Ponthieu, on land he owned. It offered protection from flanking attacks and an uphill struggle for the French attackers. The English dug pits to make French attacks more difficult. The English were badly outnumbered. Estimates vary but the French at least had double the number of troops. The English had about 15,000 troops, the French between 30,000 and 100,000.
Aerial view of the battle site according to Google.
The first attack came from Genoese crossbowmen but the English and Welsh longbow men had the advantage of range and the Italians soon retreated. French men-at-arms attacked in some confusion, killing Genoese as they attacked but were repulsed after terrible fighting. Wave after wave of French attacks followed. None succeeding. At the end of the two day battle very few English men were killed and many thousands of French, including the flower of the nobility.
English losses were 300 or less and the French lost are sometimes estimated as 30,000, but a third of that is probably more realistic.
The battle changed opinions about British fighting ability, and showed that heavily armoured wealthy knights could not stand against trained yeoman archers armed with long bows. The archers could shoot 3 arrows a minute with a range of up to 300 yards. There may have shot half a million arrows.
But it can also be argued that the victory lulled the English into the belief that they could hold France. This led to the fruitless slaughter of the 100 years war which England ultimately lost.
On the other hand Edward III captured Calais which remained an important and strategic asset until the 16th Century.
Google image with the Crecy in the orange bounded area bottom middle of the screen
Title Page of publication Published 1 February 1980 Archaeometry
Today is the day that the World Wide Web was first introduced to the world. I was working as a freelancer helping set up computer systems for the Freud Museum, in London. The Freud Museum was funded by an American organisation who wanted to support the history of Freud and Psychoanalysis. They were early adopters of email, and one of the staff, Tony Clayton, I think, introduced me to this new thing called the World Wide Web. How soon it changed our lives!
So, this post is the first in an occasional series on my role in digital heritage.
My use of computers began in 1975/6 when I worked in the Research Laboratory for Archaeology and the History of Art, Keble College, Oxford University. I was a Research Assistant working with Mike Barbetti. He was a Research Fellow from Australia and an expert on the science of the earth’s magnetic field, and a pioneer in archaeomagnetism.
So what was it all about? In short, the Magnetic Pole does not always point due north. From time to time, it wanders around and sometimes reverses completely, pointing south. Also, the intensity of the magnetic field changes with time. Mike was interested in the science behind these reversals but also interested in the archaeological by-products of the findings.
We were using archaeology to get well dated samples to plot accurately magnetic fluctuations through time. It was hoped the changes in direction or intensity of the magnetic field would allow archaeological sites to be dated. Secondly, we could use the readings to determine whether clay deposits had been heated or not. The iron particles in clay would, when heated, align to the contemporary magnetic field. Mike had collected samples from Africa including the famous Olduvai Gorge, and we contributed to the discussions on the first use of fire by the genus homo.
It turned out that dating applications were severally limited, as it proved difficult to create an effective reference curve. But sporadically, a use for archaeomagnetism crops up in the literature.
Mike was kind enough to include me as joint author on 3 papers which were accepted by Nature and which remain my most cited papers.
When I thanked him, saying how kind it was for him to include me. He made a point of telling me I had every right to have my name on the papers as I not only did a lot of the work, but I contributed ideas to the study. He taught me a lesson that you should always be generous acknowledging contributions.
The specimens he brought back, were encased in plaster of Paris, I went to a shed in the garden of the terrace house that was the Research Lab. There I cut them up with a saw. We then measured the intensity and direction of the magnetic field in the samples. The results were processed by a computer program written by Mike. I prepared the experimental results on magnetic cards and uploaded them for a data run on the main frame computer at the Oxford University Computer Centre. The Computers were the size of a house, but there was a Unix minicomputer in the basement of our lab. There was always mistakes on the first run and then you reran the programme with edit cards at the front which were coded to do things like: ‘change 127 on the first card to 172’. The corrected results were rerun the next day. Seems very primitive and slow now but then it was cutting-edge technology.
After a couple of years, I began my career as a field archaeologist. Having seen how powerful computers could be, I decided, in the late 1970’s, that Archaeology needed computers. So I set out to find out how to use them for myself and where they might come in useful. This took me on an exciting journey of exploration which began with signing up for a Part-time PhD at Birkbeck College in Computer Applications in Archaeology, while I continued working at the Museum of London as an archaeologist. The study consisted of creating a database structure to hold archaeological field records, and to link this to digitised copies of context plans. I was hoping to show that we could interrogate the data, asking questions like ‘Draw a site plan of all contexts which have pottery dating to the Flavian period’. This would, perhaps, speed up the post excavation work, and enable a more sophisticated analysis of data.
Through the window of Hardy’s Max Gate house, you can see a Prehistoric Sarsen Stone, originally part of a neolithic stone circle or henge. (bottom right window pane, top left corner). Photo: Kevin Flude of Hardy’s Henge
Author of ‘Tess of the d’Urbervilles’ Thomas Hardy was an architect and designed his own house. During the work on Max Gate, the builders came across a large block of sandstone. The stone is of a type called ‘Sarsen’ at Stonehenge. it is ‘a type of silcrete, a rock formed when sand is cemented by silica (quartz)‘. It is a hard sandstone.
Hardy, who loved history, had it relocated into his garden and called it his ‘druid stone’. This recalls one of the most famous scenes in ‘Tess’. She is sleeping on the Altar Stone at Stonehenge as the Police move in to arrest her for murder. Angel, her lover, persuades the Police to let her enjoy a few more minutes of peaceful sleep. After which they arrest her, try her, find her guilty and hang her at Winchester. Spoiler alert?
The Altar Stone at Stonehenge, by the way, has very recently been discovered to be from Scotland. A discovery that confirms that Stonehenge was an immensely important site in the Neolithic and Bronze Age.
Sarsen stone at Max Gate (photo Kevin Flude)Sarsen stone at Max Gate (Photo Kevin Flude
Hardy loved history. How glad he would have been to know his house was in the middle of an important Henge. Hardy’s Henge (aka Flagstones) turns out to be older than Stonehenge. In the 1982. a geophysical survey in advance of the Dorchester Bypass was undertaken. It found evidence of a circular enclosure outside Hardy’s house. This was followed by an excavation in 1987-8. This discovered a large circular bank 100m in diameter, from the Neolithic period.
Half of Flagstones, is largely preserved beneath Max Gate, and has now been officially listed and protected. The excavations suggested a date of construction of 3,000 BC, about the time of Stonehenge’s first construction. But it has just been redated to 3,200BC making Flagstones older than Stonehenge!
Max Gate, Hardy’s House on the outskirts of Dorchester, Dorset. Photo Kevin Flude
In 2022, targeted excavation designed to explore the other half of the circle revealed further dating evidence. This suggests it was built 500 years before Stonehenge, earlier than 3,500BC. The suggested date of 3650BC makes it one of the earliest in the South West. It was giving listed protection on the August 19th, 2024. (redated to 3650BC)
Susan Greaney – Greaney, S. et al. (2025) “Beginning of the circle? Revised chronologies for Flagstones and Alington Avenue, Dorchester, Dorset”. Antiquity, First View (28). Cambridge University Press: 1-17. (Source Wikipedia)
The enclosure consists of a single ring of unevenly spaced pits, forming an interrupted ditch system roughly circular. The dating evidence does not prove that this circuit was built before 3,500 BC. But it does show there was a neolithic presence on the site at this early date. Burials were found in the bottom of the pits forming the enclosure. Four of these pits were had markings on the lower pit walls. These were cut by flint forming pictograms of varying forms from curvilinear, to linear. There was little activity in the Late Neolithic. The site seems to have been reused for funerary and ‘other practices’ during the Bronze, Iron Ages and Roman period.
Flagstones sketchup sketch from original by Jennie Anderson (https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cge12yeqv43o)
These recent finds make Hardy’s Henge an important precursor to Stonehenge. The site is built on a ridge parallel with the River Frome. Dorchester, a couple of miles from Max Gate, is another ‘ritual landscape’ like Stonehenge. Here are a cluster of important Neolithic and Bronze Age monuments. In the centre of the Town, was found evidence of a massive wooden circle. The postholes are found marked on the floor of the town centre car-park as shown below. The Great Henge is a massive 360m in diameter, covering much of the much later Town Centre. It was built in around 2100 BC.
Neolithic Circle in Dorcester (photo Kevin Flude)
Just outside of Dorchester is a Roman Amphitheatre. This is where Hardy sets the reunion of the Mayor of Casterbridge and Susan Newson. She was the wife he sold at a county fair, years ago when he was a young man. But it began life as another Neolithic circular enclosure. This had an external bank, and an inner Ditch in which were dug 44 tapering pits, up to 10m in depth. Antler picks, chalk objects, including chalk phalluses, were found. The disused amphitheatre was used for executions in the early modern period.
Maumbury Rings – Neolithic Enclosure, Roman Amphitheatre, place of execution, Civil War defense, and fictional meeting place of the Mayor of Casterbridge and his estranged wife, Susan Newson (or Henchard!)
A few miles away, at the Iron Age Hill Fort of Maiden Castle, is a Neolithic Causewayed Enclosure. Hardy also wrote about Maiden Castle, and an excavation.
Maiden Castle. Iron Age Hillfort. the East End was originally a Neolithic Causewayed Enclosure
These ritual landscapes, such as Dorchester, Stonehenge, Avebury, Heathrow and elsewhere shows a clustering of ritual places in important landscapes. It suggests evidence of regional organisation. Stonehenge, however, continues to lead the way for evidence of not only regional but international importance. It drew people, and objects from not only England, Scotland and Wales, but also from the continent.
For further details of the Flagstones listing and excavation, here is the official listing document:
The Court House, Chipping Campden, poor photo by the Author! Where the mystery of the Chipping Campden Murder began
When I take Road Scholar groups to Chipping Campden, in the Cotswolds. We pass the Court House (pictured above) where I tell the story of the disappearance of William Harrison. Last time, looking at my old ragged notes, I noticed that the disappearance took place on the 16th August.
On that day in 1660 70 yr old William Harrison left the Court House where he was the Steward. The Steward went for a 2-mile walk, collecting rents. When he didn’t return, his wife sent out a man servant, John Perry, to bring him home. Neither had returned by the next morning.
Harrison’s son went out to search for his dad, and found John Perry. The two of them searched for Harrison without luck. Meanwhile, Harrison’s neckband and shirt were found with his hat. The clothes were said to be blood stained, but as those who read Sherlock Holmes will know, there was no certain test for blood stains (a test was introduced in the late 19th Century).
But the identification of blood stains led to suspicion of John Perry. He said he was innocent, but he buckled under questioning, maintaining it was nothing to do with him. B he claimed his brother and mother murdered Harrison for his money. Perry soon changed his testimony about his brother and mother and eventually pleaded insanity. All three were hanged.
Two years later, Harrison returned home, claiming to have been abducted by pirates and sold into slavery in Turkey before escaping and returning to England.
This is, pretty much, the bones of the story I have told my groups over the last 15 years. But what is wonderful about my job and this ‘Almanac of the Past:, is that you get to dig that little bit deeper than the local guidebook.
The first new ‘fact’ I discovered was that Harrison was Steward to the Lady Juliana Noel. She has a very prominent monument in St James Church, near the Court House and has long fascinated me. I will write more about her one day. Meanwhile, have a look at my post on her Dad, Baptist Hicks and how the family came to be Lords of the Manor of Chipping Campden, and Campden Hill, Notting Hill.
Back to my new discoveries about the Crime! John Perry, his mother and brother were actually tried twice for the crime. The first judge refused to try them for murder in the absence of the body. But they were encouraged to plead guilty to robbery, as they would then be eligible for an amnesty for first time convictions introduction by the new King Charles II on his restoration. So they were convicted.
However, another Judge was willing to try them in the absence of a body, and they were, after all, tried for the murder. But having pleaded guilty to robbery (to avoid the risk of being executed), they had no real defence to the charge and were sentenced to be hanged.
Nor was the hanging simple: Joan Perry, the mother, was hanged first because she was said to be a witch who was preventing her sons from pleading guilty. After she was hanged, her sons still maintained their innocence The oldest son was then hanged. But the youngest son still claimed his innocence and was hanged too.
The hangings took place on the hill above Broadway, the highest point of the Cotswolds, where Broadway Tower now stands, and a famous beauty spot. Mother and son were buried under the Gibbet, but John Perry was hanged in chains and kept on display as a warning to others not to follow his example.
As to William Harrison’s story of his abduction, it sounds a little unlikely in rural Gloucestershire. To a modern mind, it seems more likely that he felt the need to leave home, or had some form of breakdown, or did he collude with the Perry’s to steal money from the Noel Estate? I wonder how he reacted when told that three people lost their lives because of him?
But, it has been suggested that Harrison was kidnapped by people involved in the English Civil War who had secrets to keep which Harrison as Steward might have known. He said English people had kidnapped him and put on a ship to America which was attacked by ‘Turkish’ (maybe Barbary Pirates).
The case led to a ‘no body, no murder’ rule which survived until 1954. But in modern times a body is not essential to a successful prosecution for murder, particularly in domestic murder cases, provided there is sufficient evidence to prove the case.
The case is normally referred to as ‘The Chipping Campden Wonder’ and it has often been written about, for example by Linda Stratmann. I have been wondering why it was so named, there being nothing wonderful about a murder or an abduction. But I have just found a ballad that was written about the case that might explain it. This claims that Joan Perry was indeed a witch, Harrison was attacked and buried in a pit but was, somehow, magically conveyed to Turkey, from which he eventually escaped to return to Chipping Campden. The Wonder is presumably the saving of Harrison and transportation to Turkey? The ballad clarifies that there was therefore no miscarriage of justice, as the Perrys were involved with diabolical doings, and that the Grace of God saved Harrison despite the best efforts of the Perrys.
‘Amongst those wonders which on early are shown, In any age there seldom hath béen known, A thing more strange then that which this Relation, Doth here present unto your observation. In Glocestershire as many know full well, At Camben Town a Gentleman did dwell, One Mr. William Harrison by name, A Stewart to a Lady of great fame.
A Widdow likewise in the Town there was, A wick wretch who brought strange things to pass, So wonderful that some will scarce receive, […]hese lines for truth nor yet my words beleive.
[…] such as unto Cambden do resort, Have surely found this is no false report, Though many lies are dayly now invented, This is as true a Song as ere was Printed.
Therefore unto the story now give ear, This Widow Pery as it doth appear, And her two sons all fully were agréed, Against their friend to work a wicked déed.
One of her Sons even from a youth did dwell, With Mr. Harrison who loved him well, And bred him up his Mother being poor, But sée how he requited him therefore.
For taking notice that his Master went, Abroad to gather in his Ladies rent, And by that means it was an usual thing, For him great store of money home to bring.
He thereupon with his mischevous mother, And likewise with his vile ungodly Brother, Contriv’d to rob his Master, for these base And cruel wretches were past shame and grace.
One night they met him comming into Town, And in a barbarous manner knockt him down, Then taking all his money quite away, His body out of sight they did convey.
But being all suspected for this déed, They apprehended were and sent with spéed, To Glocester Goal and there upon their Tryal, Were guilty found for all their stiff denyal.
Jt was supposed the Gentleman was dead, And by these wretches robd and Murthered, Therefore they were all thrée condem’d to death, And eke on Broadway-hill they lost their breath.
One of the Sons was buried with his Mother, Vnder the Gibbet, but the other Brother, That serv’d the Gentleman was hang’d in Chains, And there some part of him as yet remains.
But yet before they died they did proclaim Even in the ears of those that thither came, That Mr. Harison yet living was And would be found in less then seven years space.
Which words of theirs for truth do now appear For tis but two year since they hanged were, And now the Gentleman alive is found Which news is publisht through the Countrys round
But lest that any of this truth shall doubt, Ile tell you how the business came about This Widow Pery as tis plainly shown Was then a Witch although it was not known.
So when these Villains by their mothers aid Had knockt him down (even as before was said) They took away his money every whit, And then his body cast into a pit.
He scarce was come unto himself before Another wonder did amaze him more, For whilst he lookt about, he found that he Was suddainly conveyd unto the Sea.
First on the shore he stood a little space And thence unto a rock transported was, Where he four days and nights did then remain And never thought to see his friends again.
But as a Turkish ship was passing by Some of the men the Gentleman did spy, And took him in and as I understand, They carried him into the Turkish Land.
And there (not knowing of his sad disaster) They quickly did provide for him a Master, A Surgeon or of some such like profession, Whose service he performed with much discretion.
It séems in gathering Hearbs he had good skill, And could the same excéeding well distil, Which to his Master great content did give, And pleas’d him well so long as he did live.
But he soon dyd, and at his death he gave him, A piece of plate that so none should enslave him, But that his liberty be might obtain, To come into his native land again.
And thus this Gentleman his fréedom wrought; And by a Turky Ship from thence was brought; To Portugal, and now both safe and sound, He is at length arrived on English ground.
Let not this séem incredible to any, Because it is a thing afirmed by many, This is no feigned story, though tis new, But as tis very strange tis very true.
You sée how far a Witches power extends, When as to wickedness her mind she bends, Great is her Malice, yet can God restrain her, And at his pleasure let her loose or chain her.
If God had let her work her utmost spight, No doubt she would have kild the man outright, But he is saved and she for all her malice, Was very justly hang’d upon the Gallows.
Then let all praise to God alone be given, By men on earth as by the Saints in heaven, He by his mercy dayly doth befriend us, And by his power he will still defend us.’
