There is a delightful walk across the fields from Long Compton to Little
Compton, with a glorious prospect of the Gloucestershire and
Warwickshire hills. This village used to be in the former county, but
now belongs to Warwickshire. Close to the quaint saddle-back towered
church stands the gabled Elizabethan manor-house, with the Juxon arms
carved over the entrance. Its exterior has been but little altered since
the prelate lived here in retirement after the execution of Charles I. A
gruesome relic was kept in one of the rooms, the block upon which the
poor monarch's head was severed. This and King Charles' chair and some
of the archbishop's treasured books disappeared from the manor-house
after the death of his descendant Lady Fane. Internally the house has
been much altered, but there are many nooks and corners to carry the
memory back to the hunting bishop, for his pack of hounds was one of the
best managed in the country. Upon one occasion a complaint was made to
the Lord Protector that Juxon's hounds had followed the scent through
Chipping Norton churchyard at the time of a puritanical assembly there.
But Oliver would hear none of it, and only replied, "Let the bishop
enjoy his hunting unmolested."
[Illustration: CHASTLETON.]
When Little Compton church had an Independent minister to hold forth to
the congregation, the prelate held divine service every Sunday at
Chastleton, the grand old home of the loyalist family of Jones. This
stately Jacobean mansion is close to Little Compton, but is really in
Oxfordshire. It has an old-world charm about it entirely its own; and
few ancestral homes can take us back to the days of Cavalier and
Roundhead with such realism, for the old furniture and pictures and
relics have never been disturbed since the house was built by Walter
Jones between the years 1603 and 1630. He purchased the estate from
Robert Catesby, the projector of the Gunpowder Plot, who sold the manor
to provide funds for carrying on that notorious conspiracy.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account