Wednesday 9 December 2015

West Country Tour – St Ive Church – get us to the Church on time … Part 8 …



Jenny had fixed to meet the artist and her husband, and some people from the village of St Ive (pronounced ‘St Eve’ – possibly of Welsh or Persian origin; and not the picturesque harbour of St Ives). 
 
First Rectory and the Church


Sally, who lives locally – obviously found Emily and the local connections via the Museum, the Church and asking around … a great inquisitor … and became interested in Emily Hobhouse’s story.





Gravestones for Emily's parents


Emily was born in the village in 1860 where her father was Rector for 50 years (1844-1895) … she was only able to leave the village once her father had died – he was an autocratic Victorian father.



Stained Glass window in the Church


Sally, who lives life to the full with her husband, is a great artist (though see the collage) – more next year … and having got hooked on Emily – traced Jenny to Vancouver Island … and that was that – we were invited to stay the night: the internet is a great thing.







The restored Organ Pipes



Sally had fixed to meet with a couple at the Church, one of whom had lived in the village all his life … and knew people who had known Emily Hobhouse and those connections.




Jenny was thrilled to be able to meet these parishioners, hear their stories, see all the papers they and the village had relative to Emily and/or her parents.


The nave looking west; the barrel
(wagon) roof
We had tea and scones … but Jenny was absorbed with Dennis and Doreen, and Sally – while they nattered about all things Emily.  It was lovely to see – books and papers all over the place …


Sally’s husband and I looked around the Church – wandering back to the group to ask pertinent questions … and finding out a bit about the history.



The manor of Trebeigh, St Ive was listed in the Domesday Book and has a history of the chequered sort, as well as the peaceful type …


An Armorial Hatchment - that has been slightly
touched up ... I've forgotten further details and thought I'd
be able to find it on the net - to no avail!



King Stephen in 1150 gave the manor to the Knights Templar where they settled, offering refuge and refreshment to pilgrims on their way to St Michael’s Mount in Penzance Bay, which was the point of departure to the Holy Land.






Henry VIII confiscated (1538-1541) the Templar lands – ultimately Elizabeth I abolished the Order of the Estate.  Trebeigh Manor changed hands … but there were stories and traditions about the field below the Church.


A view from the Churchyard across to
 the high point ofCaradon Hill
There might be secret tunnels linking Trebeigh to the Church … and locally Trebeth, as Trebeigh is known, means ‘farm with a grave’ in Cornish – thus giving credence that the field is an old burial ground.




The history is here … Dennis confirmed that the house next to the Church was the original Rectory, and that Emily’s father had lived there before he married.


Where Emily lived - the new Rectory


On his marriage to a daughter of a fairly well-connected and wealthy family … a new Rectory was built across the road.  Which was where Emily was born and where she and her sister, Maud, lived in their early years.





The blue plaque on the Rectory -
an historical marker




The Rectory had passed into private hands, was looking distinctly derelict … and was up for sale – but needed a huge amount of work done on it.







I’m certain the meeting for Jenny was of huge significance and interest … and she would have learnt and taken things in about the Hobhouses that she hadn’t found out when she looked through Emily’s papers – the papers she had inherited from Emily’s nephew, Oliver, her father.


The small permanent notice about Emily - the
bronze statue is locked up.


But what fun to meet up with two delightful couples who could share Emily with Jenny … they were all so enthusiastic – it was wonderful to see …






The church bronze of
Emily - sorry about the
fire-hydrant and
safety messages!
We bade our farewells to the St Ive parishioners, while Sally, her husband, Jenny and I ‘retired’ to their farm house for more discussion, more pouring over documents, papers, books etc … with Sally disappearing off to find more information … and bringing out some of her art work.


The kitchen table stretched out with Emily clutter … more tea was poured out … the nattering began – interspersed occasionally by the cook – Sally’s husband or me with some salient thought …


… Coq-au-vin aromas filled the kitchen space … but we were content … the Aga was put to use … Ralphie, the dog, happily settled at our feet … contentedness abounded.

One of Sally's drawings, some books and a definitive issue South African
Stamp commemorating Emily's death fifty years before.


St Ive sundial (1695)
with the inscription
"Quotidie Morior"
(I die daily)
Wine o'clock came about ...



Friends arrived, dinner was served, our brains too were replete … a good night was said – and we awoke to our next escapade … hurling some stones, building cheeses and doing some archaeological viewing … 

... after another layby stopover for two films!



Hilary Melton-Butcher
Positive Letters Inspirational Stories

32 comments:

Elephant's Child said...

Thank you so much for taking us with you. I have been finding it absolutely fascinating. The history, the scenery, the community...

Out on the prairie said...

A most interesting tour, I like all the research and personal interests.A very lovely church, I would like to hear the pipe organ boom.

Rhodesia said...

Another interesting and fascinating post, well done Hilary. Have a good day Diane

Elizabeth Spann Craig said...

Fascinating history! And what a charming area. I love the way you bring it all to life, Hilary.

Joanne said...

this was an excellent pit stop. I want to hear the church organ. All of your pictures are stunning. So glad your daughter could dig deep into the life of Emily and learn so much more. It was all meant to be - meeting these folks,etc. Quite fun, all around

Hilary Melton-Butcher said...

@ EC - so pleased you're enjoying the trip with me. It generally feels like home to me too - even though I've never actually lived down there .. have always been visiting and especially when my mother was alive and living further west.

@ Steve - so glad you're with me on this tour. Thanks re the research and personal touches of Emily, as well as her great niece Jenny. The Church was lovely - even though they'd done a lot of alterations. I love sitting listening to organ music ....

@ Diane - thanks so much .. have a good journey over ...

@ Elizabeth - I enjoy the learning ... and am happy if everyone gets the feel for the place - I love Cornwall, though this is an area I didn't know much about.

@ Karen - thanks so much and it was an amazing trip ... now being relived!

@ Joanne - This was fortunately longer than a pit stop ... and I hope they have a good organist ... they are getting fewer and harder to find.

Jenny is my mother's cousin - so the next generation up ... while Emily, who died in 1926, was Jenny's father's aunt ...

This generational thing is troublesome to me - to how to deal with it .. and to write about it sometimes!!

Everything turned out to be as it was meant to be ... all the meeting-ups as you say - and generally great fun.

Cheers to you all .. and thanks so much for being happy to join me on my west country tour - Hilary

loverofwords said...

Fun to be on your journey again with you, Hilary, not as good as being there but. . . . My advice to anyone is to travel, travel, travel, because there will be a time when it becomes much harder for many reasons. The quote on the sundial is interesting. How would you interpret it? (A coward dies a thousand times, a hero only once?)

Susan Gourley/Kelley said...

It would be so fun to have a famous person as an ancestor and be able to find all that information about her as well as other non-relatives who cared about that ancestor.

Anabel Marsh said...

Wonderful! I can feel the excitement through your post.

T. Powell Coltrin said...

Emily is an interesting case and belongs to the family. Even neater.

I loved the "Wine O'clock". It made me chuckle.

Christine Rains said...

What a wonderful stop on the tour. Such lovely pictures too. Thanks for sharing!

Alex J. Cavanaugh said...

Beautiful scenery and church. That's great the connect was made online and you two had a place to stay.

New Release Books said...

Fascinating post, Hilary! Thanks.

Crystal Collier said...

I absolutely adore the old buildings and relics. The older, the better.

Paula said...

Those gravestones remind me why I love to visit old cemeteries!

Lynn said...

What a wonderful trip. I am loving reading about it.

And happy to know how to pronounce St. Ive!

Janie Junebug said...

I'm fascinated and confused by British v. U.S. pronunciations. I always want to learn more.

Love,
Janie

Susan Scott said...

I'm enjoying the Emily Hobhouse travels Hilary thank you muchly.

Hilary Melton-Butcher said...

@ Nat - it's really good to see you here again and I'm glad the shoulder is slowly improving. I agree ... travel, travel, travel - locally or overseas - just expand your horizons - you would know more than most.

The quote on the sundial "I die daily" - I had interpreted as ... as time passes I am slowly moving towards the end ... so your travel thoughts and get on and do it: are very appropriate. It's a very good quote to remember and remind us time does pass.

@ Susan - Jenny really embraced Emily's papers ... and has found out so much, and much more ... that she has done Emily justice and is still doing so. It's been interesting for me too - albeit I'm not a relative, I've taken an interest in those times and the South African connections.

@ Anabel - thank you ... it was wonderful to see someone in their eighties engage so happily with Sally, through finding they have this joint interest about Emily.

@ Teresa - yes .. Emily has been fascinating to find out about; while I've been able to join Jenny on some of her journey - the Cornish connection and the South African one.

Wine O'clock - I relate that to Talli ... who is bringing young Baby TR up ... but she'll return, I'm sure.

@ Christine - am happy to see you here.

@ Alex - even though the days were short and the weather wasn't brilliant - the Cornish and Devon countryside can inspire ... even with granite and slate grey!

Yes ... the internet can be a boon - and how lovely to make new friends.

@ Nas (I think!) .. thank you ...

@ Crystal - well we have lots of those - old buildings and artefacts.

@ Paula - walking through graveyards can be so fascinating and inspiring to think of the what ifs and what was going on etc ... it's very peaceful too.

@ Lynn - many thanks - that's good to know that you're enjoying reading my journey as I go round.

The St Ive here is "Eve" ... the St Ives (further west down the peninsula) fishing port and now beautiful harbour and artists' colony, as too tourism is still pronounced "Ives" ...

@ Janie - it's a learning process ... but muddles us all. I hope we don't lose our idiosyncratic linguistic abilities ... as txt takes over ...

Also we can learn much from words - often their origins, their connections etc etc .. it's a fascinating world.

@ Susan - thanks so much ... Emily has lots of connections with South Africa - she did a great deal for so many at the beginning of the 1900s ..

Thanks so much for taking the time to comment and being here as I travel ... cheers Hilary

Murees Dupè said...

Such an interesting visit. It's always great to find out more about past events. The fact that there was still so much information available about Emily is wonderful.

A Cuban In London said...

So, that's how you pronounce "Ives" (I used to pronounce it as in "hive" :-) ). Thanks. Beautiful post.

Greetings from London.

Hilary Melton-Butcher said...

@ Murees - thanks and it's good to know you enjoy hearing about the past. Jenny has really searched information out on Emily ... so there should be as fully a record as is reasonably possible.

@ ACIL - just to clarify ... St Ives in west Cornwall - the harbour and fishing village is pronounced St Ives, as too that town in Huntingdonshire.

While St Ive, outside Liskeard, is pronounced St 'Eve' ...

It is muddling I quite agree!! But I'm delighted you enjoyed the post ..

Cheers to you both - Hilary

Rosalind Adam said...

So much history. Fascinating part of the country.

Jo said...

Interesting for her to meet someone who actually knew her. I have never heard of St. Ive. I like the story about the Trebeigh manor I'm glad it's still there. I was horrified to learn recently that Cromwell and friends smashed stained glass windows which were so very old (was that you or somewhere else?). Bit like ISIS today.

Hilary Melton-Butcher said...

@ Ros - as you well know we are surrounded by history here in the UK, and different areas have so much to find out about.

@ Jo - Oliver Cromwell had been converted a strong puritan faith, and he didn't like the 'popish' ceremonies and adornments still used in the Church. A lot of the destruction occurred between the Royalists and Parliamentary armies ... fanatical elements destroying the churches and windows ... because their interiors told stories - which the populace could read.

The worst destruction had occurred 100 years earlier via Henry VIIIs Dissolution of the Monasteries ...

Hope that helps ...

Lots of history as Ros points out .. cheers Hilary

Patsy said...

I made pasties for the first time ever yesterday, Hilary. I'm blaming the influence of your west country posts and details of lovely food!

TexWisGirl said...

a lovely old place!

Hilary Melton-Butcher said...

@ Patsy - so pleased you succeeded in making pasties - sorry about the influence ... but the west country is the place of the pasty and there's good food too.

@ Theresa - it is a very old Church ...

Cheers to you both - Hilary

Jeffrey Scott said...

More history on Emily. How interesting.
Glad you all got to enjoy the repasts and fellowship while discussing a personal hero.
"wine-o-clock" I like that. LOL

Hilary Melton-Butcher said...

Hi Jeffrey - there's a lot on Emily ... which will appear in due course. It was a fascinating day ... topped the Emily visit off for Jenny ... and Sally was thrilled to get some inside knowledge. Wine o'clock I'm sure is talli's phrase ... but it's a good one. Cheers Hilary

Dianne K. Salerni said...

Although I've done research on historical figures for my writing, I have never done what you did: go to the places where they lived, talk to people who were connected to them, look at primary source documents. Some day!!!!

Hilary Melton-Butcher said...

Hi Dianne - I was lucky that Jenny asked me along and so I've been able to get some inside knowledge from the outside - as I'm not a relative per se, but yet am part of the family.

It was really fortunate that Sally had contacted Jenny and we were able to spend the night with her and she had the contacts in the village of St Ive - Emily's home. Jenny has the documents in Vancouver Island ... but they will be preserved probably in the Bodlean Library, Oxford.

Emily living til 1926 helps ... albeit she was living in the west of Cornwall at the end of her life ... it was only 90 years ago ... and those memories are almost alive.

Thanks - and I'm sure one day you'll do some actual primary research from the subject's documents ... cheers Hilary