Legend of Richmond Castle

Legend of Richmond Castle

 

High on a cliff above the River Swale in North Yorkshire sits Richmond Castle. Built by Alan the Red after the Norman Conquest in the late 11th century, the castle is one of the finest Norman castles in Britain. Indeed, there are only two other stone built castles in England that are as old as Richmond: those at Colchester and Durham.

 

Maintained by English Heritage, Richmond Castle is a popular destination for tourists. There are glorious views over Richmond and the Yorkshire Dales from the top of the 12th century keep which was built over the original 11th century gate house. Scolland’s Hall, named after a Constable of the Castle, is a fine example of a Norman great hall.

 

Richmond Castle is also one of the places associated with King Arthur and his knights. According to legend, the castle is built over a cave where King Arthur and his knights are sleeping in their tombs, waiting to rise from their slumber to defend England in her hour of need.

 

It is said that whilst out for a walk, a local potter called Peter Thompson found his way by chance into this cave. There he saw King Arthur’s horn and his sword Excalibur lying on top of one of the richly carved tombs. Intrigued, Peter picked up the sword. Immediately he was deafened by a thundering clatter of armour all around him and slowly the tombs began to open. Terrified, he promptly replaced the sword and instantly the noise stopped and all was still.

 

As he fled from the cave, half crazed with terror, Peter heard a voice say:

 

“Potter Thompson, Potter Thompson

Hadst thou blown the Horn

Thou hadst been the greatest man

That ever was born.”

 

He stopped only to block the entrance so that no-one else would stumble upon the sleeping knights.

 

Richmond Castle is maintained by English Heritage

 

 

 

The English Oak

The English Oak

 

The mighty English oak* is woven into the history and folklore of England.

 

Druids would worship in oak groves, couples would marry under their spreading branches and the Yule Log, decorated for Christmas with holly and mistletoe, was traditionally cut from oak. Acorns, the fruit of the oak, were carried by folk as charms to bring good luck and good health.

 

The timber, prized for its strength and durability, is still used in the construction of houses, furniture making and of course, shipbuilding. The English oak has always enjoyed a close association with the Royal Navy, whose ships were constructed from oak timbers until the middle of the 19th century, earning the Senior Service the nickname ‘the Wooden Walls of Old England’. Since the Restoration of the Monarchy in 1660 there have been eight warships called HMS Royal Oak, and ‘Heart of Oak’ is the official march of the Royal Navy.

 

Over the centuries, oak has been used to make barrels to store wines and spirits, and its bark is also used in the leather tanning process.  Until the early twentieth century, the large round growths found on the trunks of oak trees, known as called oak galls, were used in the production of ink.

 

More recently, the image of an oak tree has appeared on the reverse of the pound coin and the National Trust uses a sprig of oak leaves and acorns as its emblem. ‘The Royal Oak’ is also one of the most popular names for pubs in Britain!

 

The oak even plays a part in weather prediction:

If the oak before the ash,

Then we’ll only have a splash.

If the ash before the oak,

Then we’ll surely have a soak!

 

There are more oaks in England than any other woodland tree. Their distinctive shape makes them easy to spot in the English landscape. Because of their size (they can grow to over 30 metres) and the fact they can live for over 1,000 years, much of the folklore surrounding these mighty trees concerns individual oaks.

 

Perhaps the most famous of these is the Royal Oak, in which the future King Charles II is said to have hidden from the Roundheads at Boscobel House following the Battle of Worcester in 1651 during the English Civil War. The king’s own account, dictated some years later to Samuel Pepys, records how he hid in a great oak tree whilst Parliamentarian soldiers searched below. After the Restoration in 1660, Charles inaugurated 29th May as Royal Oak Day (or Oak Apple Day) to celebrate his escape.

 

Another ancient oak is to be found in Greenwich Park, London. It is believed that Queen Elizabeth’s Oak  dates back to the 12th century; according to legend, King Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn once danced around it and Queen Elizabeth I picnicked under it. Unfortunately this illustrious tree was brought down in a heavy storm in 1991 but it remains, slowly decaying, in the park with a young oak planted beside it.

 

In Leicestershire, ancient pollarded oaks can be found in Bradgate Park. These trees were allegedly ‘decapitated’ in 1554 by foresters as a sign of respect, following the beheading of Lady Jane Grey who was born at nearby Bradgate Hall.

 

At the foot of Glastonbury Tor in Somerset stand two very ancient oaks, reputedly over 2000 years old and known as Gog and Magog. It is thought they may be the last remnants of an avenue of oaks leading up to the Tor, itself steeped in myth and legend.

 

Today the Major Oak is reputed to be the UK’s largest oak tree. It stands in the heart of Sherwood Forest and according to legend, Robin Hood and his Merry Men would camp under its canopy. A popular tourist attraction, the veteran tree is thought to be around 800 to 1000 years old.

Wimbledon

Wimbledon

The Championships, Wimbledon, or just Wimbledon as it is more commonly referred to, is the oldest tennis tournament in the world and arguably the most famous. Since the first tournament 125 years ago in 1877, The Championships have been hosted by the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club in Wimbledon, London and take place over two weeks in late June – early July.

 

Of the four major annual tennis tournaments known as the ‘Grand Slams’, Wimbledon is the only one to still be played on grass, which is where the name lawn tennis originated. Grass is also the surface which provides the fastest game of tennis. Of the other three, the Australian Open and the US Open are both played on hard courts and the French Open is played on clay.

 

In stark contrast to today’s sporting extravaganza, the first year of the Championships took place with very little fanfare. The All England Club had originally been called the All England Croquet Club when it opened in 1869, but as the new game of lawn tennis – an offshoot of the original indoor racquet sport known by traditionalists as ‘real tennis’ – began to grow in popularity at the end of the nineteenth century, the club decided to provide tennis courts for their visitors. On 14 April 1877 the Club introduced the first of a number of name changes to become the All England Croquet and Lawn Tennis Club.

 

Unlike today’s tournament, which involves four junior and four invitation competitions alongside the five main contests – the men’s single and double matches, the women’s single and double matches and the mixed doubles – the first Wimbledon championships had one event, the Gentleman’s Singles. As it was not permissible for women to enter the tournament in 1877, the first Wimbledon champion from a group of twenty-two male competitors was twenty seven year old Spencer William Gore. In front of a crowd of 200, who had paid a shilling apiece to attend, Gore beat his opponent William Marshall in a decisive 6-1, 6-2, 6-4 defeat lasting only forty-eight minutes. As would also be the tradition for many Wimbledon tournaments to follow until a retractable roof was installed over centre court in 2009, the final was postponed due to rain. When it was eventually played three days later the weather conditions had not greatly improved.

 

The game of lawn tennis was still in its infancy at this stage, with players using basic handmade equipment and imprecise strokes, unlike the slick powerful serves and top of the range rackets we see today. However, modern day Wimbledon spectators would be sure to recognise many of the rules of the game which were first introduced by the All England Club’s Committee in 1877 as an adaptation of those put in place by the Marylebone Cricket Club, perversely the then controlling body of ‘real’ tennis.

 

Whilst no tournaments were held at Wimbledon during 1915-1918 and 1940-1945 because of the First and Second World Wars, the game continued to grow in popularity. In 1884 the men’s doubles competition was introduced and the same year women were also invited to join the tournament. In the fifties the club moved from its original rented site on Worple Road to the larger, present day Church Road site and in 1967 the tournament made history when the event became the first broadcast to ever be televised in colour.

 

Wimbledon Fashion

The accepted outfit of choice for Wimbledon players in the nineteenth century was plain white long-sleeved shirts and trousers for men and full-length corseted white dresses and hats for women. It was not until the 1920s and 1930s that the players, and particularly the female players, began to experiment with their clothing. Shorter skirts, shorts and sleeveless tops were all introduced, some more daringly than others, to provide ease of movement and a sense of individual personality.

 

As far back as the nineteen thirties the French grand slam winner René Lacoste promoted his own eponymous label by wearing his crocodile emblazoned shirts whilst on court. However, today Wimbledon is besieged with the current sports logos of choice as tennis outfits seem to be less about comfort or individuality and more often than not, a result of the multi-million pound sponsorship deals with sportswear giants. Indeed even the ball boys and girls have left behind the traditional Wimbledon colours of green and purple and have sported navy and cream uniforms created by the American fashion designer Ralph Lauren since 2006.

 

Wimbledon traditions

Although much has changed since the Wimbledon Championships were first introduced in 1887, today when we think of Wimbledon fortnight there are a number of traditional images that still spring to mind. The obligatory strawberries and cream (of which it is estimated that 28,000 kilos of English strawberries and 7000 litres of cream are consumed each year!), the white or almost all white dress code which is still a requirement, or the strong ties with the Royal family to name but a few. All of which combined continue to preserve Wimbledon’s place both in British heritage and at the forefront of the tennis world.