TrustNews Sep 22

Members' trips 2022

Greenwich

 

On what then seemed a hot summer's day in June, 16 Trust members caught an early train to Waterloo and walked down to the London Eye on the Embankment where several river cruise companies now compete for the tourist dollar on trips up and down the river. We had booked with the Uber boat and had a comfortable 45 minute journey down river to Greenwich with excellent views of all the Thames side sites and the city skyline.

 

 

The pier at Greenwich is only a moment's walk from the Visitor Centre at the Old Royal Naval College, which contains an exhibition summarising the history of this extraordinary complex of buildings. This was the site of the Palace of Placentia or Greenwich Palace beloved of Tudor monarchs, but by the late 17th century it had fallen into disrepair and William and Mary commissioned Sir Christopher Wren to build a Hospital for Seamen. The veterans of the French, Dutch and American wars were housed in palatial surroundings until the Hospital closed in 1869 and the buildings were converted into the Royal Naval College. That in its turn closed in 1998, but educational use continues as much of the site is leased to the University of Greenwich and the Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance. This means that the grounds are full of groups of students chatting and working, and music wafts from the windows of every rehearsal room.

 

 

Our tour guide led us through various parts of the site but concentrated on the Painted Hall and its Undercroft, the Nelson Room and the Chapel - all of which are open to the public without charge. The Painted Hall was created by Sir James Thorneyhill between 1707 and 1726 - his equivalent of the Sistine Chapel - and has been beautifully restored in recent years.

 

 

After an alfresco lunch at the Old Brewery on site, we made our way across the road to the Queen's House for our afternoon tour. Two knowledgeable and enthusiastic guides explained the history of the house and its architectural significance as the first truly classical Palladian building in Britain designed by lnigo Jones. Of course, it predates the Royal Naval College by 60 years so perhaps we should have done the tours the other way round - but the photograph above shows how Sir Christopher Wren designed his ranges of buildings along the axis of the Queen's House - and that UNESCO was right to designate Maritime Greenwich a World Heritage Site and describe it as "the finest and most dramatically sited architectural and landscape ensemble in the British lsles".

 

Our day ended with a whistlestop tour of the dramatic interior of the Queen's House and its art collection, including the Armada Portrait of Queen Elizabeth l, one of George Romney's portraits of Emma, Lady Hamilton and many fine naval battle pictures by the Dutch marine painters William Van de Velde, father and son. We then wearily made our way back to the pier for another delightful journey along the river back to Waterloo.

 

Of course, we had not even attempted to include the National Maritime Museum, the Royal Observatory, the Cutty Sark or the wider parkland. Frankly there is so much to see at Greenwich that it is probably better suited to a long weekend than a day trip!

 

Sue Owers

 

Painted Churches

 

This much-postponed trip took place on 5 July, and could have been called Twenty Trust Members Go on a Coach Trip to Five Interesting Churches in Hampshire and West Sussex, Some of Them With Paintings.

 

The Church of St Hubert at ldsworth dates from somewhere around the 9th century. ln 1913 the architect H.S.Goodhart-Rendel was commissioned to restore it. He did so with such sensitivity and artistry that experts still disagree whether some parts are mediaeval or twentieth century. Its major feature is a wall painting in the chancel dated to 1330. Half of it shows the dance of Salome and the beheading of John the Baptist. The other is a hunting scene in which the quarry is a very hairy man, variously identified as John the Baptist and St Hubert. Although there is no local population centre, the church is active and thriving.

 

 

The church of St Mary and St Gabriel in South Harting was built in 1300, but the most important date in its history is 1576, when a major fire destroyed it, leaving only the main outer walls. The rebuilt roof timbers are the most remarkable feature of the chancel. The nave ceiling is simpler but still a marvellous example of Elizabethan wood work.

 

St Paul's church at Elsted is described as Saxon, though it is likely that only the nave was built pre-conquest, with the chancel in the late 11th century or early 12th century. Like so many other local churches it deteriorated seriously during the 17th and 18th centuries. In 1951 , the vicar of Elsted, Rev Fernely Parkhouse, took on the task of restoring the church, employing the architect J E M McGregor, who used the surviving north wall but made no attempt to restore the original nave as it had been, using a lot of recycled stone and producing a robust but somewhat Spartan building which looks quite odd, but remains an active church.

 

St George at Trotton was built in the early 14th century in the decorated style. Its main feature is a huge Doom Painting occupying the entire west wall of the church. On the left (south) side are the seven deadly sins which have faded due to exposure to sunshine from the adjacent window, but on the right (north) side, the seven virtues are remarkably distinct after 800 years.

 

Between our visits to South Harting and Elsted, we had an excellent lunch at the Three Horseshoes in Elsted which was greatly enjoyed by all. Time constraints meant we were unable to get to the fifth church on the itinerary, East Meon.

 

Grateful thanks are due to our guide, Chris Maxse, and to lain and Penny Patton, who did their best to keep us in order.

 

David Barber