Turning a corner of the road one comes suddenly upon a wonderful old
gateway with fantastic gables and a noble Jacobean doorway. On one side
of it is a high garden wall with great circular holes in it, and over
the wall peep the gables and ornamental perforated parapet of a fine
mansion of Charles I.'s time. This is always a most fascinating picture;
but to see it at its best is when the roses are in bloom, for above the
old wall and through the rounded apertures, the queen of flowers
flourishes in gay festoons as if rejoicing at its surroundings. But if
one is so fortunate as to obtain admission to the gardens then may he or
she rejoice also, for upon the other side of that grey old wall are the
prettiest of gardens and the grandest trees, one of which, an ancient
yew, is no less than twenty-two feet in girth. There are terraces, stone
summer-houses, and nooks and corners such as one only sees in the
grounds of our ancestral homes. Within, the mansion has been much
restored and somewhat modernised, but the great hall and other rooms
take one back to the time of Inigo Jones, who designed the entrance
gateway. In the churchyard close by is buried the most popular local man
of his time, Robert Dover. If he lived in our day he surely would be the
president of the "Anti-Puritanical League," for he it was who made a
successful crusade against the spirit of religious austerity, the
tendency of which was to put down holidays of sport and merry-making. As
a result of his efforts, the hills above Chipping Camden were annually
at Whitsuntide the scene of a revival of the mediaeval days of festivity
and manly exercise. Upon these occasions the originator acted as master
of the ceremonies, and was duly respected, for he always wore a suit of
King James' own clothes. Dover died at the beginning of the Civil War,
so, fortunately for him, he did not live through the rigid rule of
Cromwell. The Cotswold games, however, were revived at the Restoration.
To this public benefactor (the shadow of whose cloak has surely fallen
on the shoulders of Lord Avebury) Drayton wrote in eulogy:
"We'll have thy statue in some rock cut out
With brave inscriptions garnished about,
And under written, 'Lo! this is the man
Dover, that first these noble sports began.'
Lads of the hills and lasses of the vale
In many a song and many a merry tale
Shall mention thee; and having leave to play,
Unto thy name shall make a holiday."
Yet nobody did set up his statue, as should have been done on "Dover
Hill" by Chipping Camden.
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