The Beauchamp Chapel – a medieval masterpiece

Posted on March 28, 2025 by johnshortlandwriter

Just occasionally nothing prepares you for a visual and emotional onslaught however much you might have read or seen images of it. I had been planning my first visit to Warwick for a few years. Perhaps it is because it is so close to home – about an hour’s drive north from my part of the Cotswolds – that it had taken me so long to actually go there for, when a place is on your doorstep, you feel you can go at any time and so put it off for another day. As it happened, I finally arrived in the town on the first warm, sunny day of spring when the ancient black and white timbered buildings really stood out against the blue sky.

Warwick is even older than those medieval buildings for it has been inhabited since the 5^th century. However, it came to prominence when William the Conqueror built Warwick Castle in AD1068. Today, it is possible to visit the castle and even stay there but this was not the purpose of my visit. I had come to see a later building – the Collegiate Chapel of St Mary, most of which is only a mere three hundred years old. A great fire had swept through the town in 1694 destroying much of it as well as the greater part of the original church. Miraculously, the fire was extinguished saving the chancel and the Beauchamp Chapel built during the 14^th and 15^th centuries. The crypt is all that is left of an even earlier church built over 900 years ago.

*The Collegiate Church of St Mary, Warwick*

*The 900 year-old crypt – all that is left from the earlier church*

I had only been standing in the church a few moments when the organ began to play; the timing could not have been better for it set the mood for the whole visit. Lovely as it was, I moved on quite quickly to the chancel dominated by the tomb and effigies of Thomas Beauchamp and Katherine Mortimer. Both died within a few months of one another in 1369 and their effigies are unusual for they lie there holding hands, signifying not just their undying love but also their equal status for Katherine had brought land and wealth to the marriage. The chancel is also unique for its light and graceful ‘skeleton rib’ vaulted roof simply adorned with the Beauchamp coat of arms clasped by angels.

*The tomb of Thomas Beauchamp & Katherine Mortimer who died in 1369 – my ancestral grandparents*

*The ‘skeleton rib’ vaulting & Beauchamp crest held by an angel*

From the chancel it is possible to glimpse into the Beauchamp Chapel where Thomas’ grandson Richard’s tomb stands. I purposely avoided doing so for I wanted to enter the chapel and to see it for the first time in its full glory. As I mentioned in this blog post’s opening sentence, I was completely unprepared for the visual feast that stood before me. The colour, the light, the opulence, the sun-kissed, bronzed effigy of Richard lying there centre stage was pure theatre – just the effect Richard had planned when he left detailed instructions for the building of the chapel all those centuries earlier. With the organ still playing behind me, I stood in the entrance transfixed, feeling slightly silly for being so moved before descending the steps to explore further. I had finally come to see the burial place of my ancestral grandfather.

*Richard’s dramatic tomb lying in the Beauchamp Chapel*

A short (but necessary!) history of Richard’s life: Richard Beauchamp was born in England in early 1382, the son of the 12^th Earl of Warwick. His godfather was King Richard II although within a very few years Richard’s father, also a Thomas, had fallen out of favour and imprisoned in the Tower of London for treason. Fortunately for him at least, the King was deposed and replaced on the throne by Henry IV; Thomas was released and his titles and land restored. During the King’s coronation in 1399, Richard was knighted and later succeeded to the title of 13^th Earl of Warwick at his father’s death in 1401. When Henry V succeeded to the throne in 1413 Richard became one of the new King’s most trusted advisers and given responsibility for the education of his young son, later to become Henry VI. Richard then spent much of his time in France, part of which had been annexed during the Hundred Years War and he died there in Rouen on 30^th April 1439.

*Richard’s armour is captured in fine detail*

*The bear and the griffin are Beauchamp heraldic emblems*

Richard’s body was brought back to England and buried in a temporary grave in the church, for in his Will of 1437 he leaves detailed instructions for the construction of the new chapel to house his tomb. No expense was to be spared for he wanted it to become one of the finest in England, in which he more than succeeded. The creation of the chapel as one complete and new entity, using only the finest materials and highest quality craftsmanship makes it unique – all the more so, for its surviving almost unscathed by the later Reformation, attempted destruction during the Civil War, as well as the great fire. He was finally laid to rest there in 1475.

*The Great Fire of 1694 stopped behind the chapel wall destroying the lower part of the wall paintings*

The tomb is, of course, the central feature of the chapel as well as its purpose. Richard lies on an intricately carved and highly coloured marble chest set with fourteen gilded ‘weepers’, namely his children and their spouses. There had been a dispute after Richard’s death within the family over inheritance for Richard had been married twice with children from each. It was Ann that finally inherited the title and estates, a daughter from the second marriage (my ancestor was Eleanor, the second daughter from the first marriage) and so it was she that oversaw the completion of the chapel. Richard’s effigy is of a younger man, his eyes open, his hands outreaching, and dressed in full armour, showing the world that he is ready to enter the Kingdom of Heaven. He gazes upon the stained glass that confirms this story.

*Richard’s daughters, some of the fourteen ‘weepers’ that surround the tomb*

*Ann, who became the 16th Countess of Warwick in thoughtful pose*

The stained glass is another miracle of survival for it is mostly complete. During the English Civil War (mid-1600s) many of the country’s churches and religious icons were damaged or destroyed with the Protestant dogma that followed. The Beauchamp Chapel’s glass was spared much of this with only its lower parts damaged. Although it cannot be seen in my photograph, it was hastily repaired – perhaps a little too hastily for Richard’s head and hands were replaced with those of a woman. The imagery depicts saints and angels in glowing colours, produced at huge expense. Musicians are shown with their instruments and a banner of sheet music runs across the entire window. The notations can be clearly seen and, as instructed by Richard, this is sung in the chapel each September with prayers said for his soul, a practice of huge significance in medieval times. There is a short YouTube video of the choir singing this original music in the chapel, as well as a brief history of the windows which can be found here.

*Richard, reborn, raises his arms towards Heaven*

*Section of the East Window surrounded by statues of saints*

Within the chapel are many other delights although none overshadow Richard. Tombs of his descendants, the Dudleys (through his eldest daughter Margaret), were placed there. They are resplendent in their own right but do not form a part of this blog. Even the prayer stalls, quite modest compared to other features of the chapel deserve close attention with their heraldic emblems carved into their timbers; they are fine in quality as well as detail. They can more briefly be shown by photos but deserve inclusion.

*The tomb of Robert Dudley and Lettice Knollys*

*Beautifully carved prayer stalls, now almost 600 years old*

My family connection to the Beauchamps. When you travel back through so many centuries from the present day you are bound to uncover many ancestral grandparents. The problem is the discovering of them for in most families, as in the rest of mine, they lived very ordinary lives that were not well recorded if at all. Just occasionally, it is possible to find one that has risen to fame and this is the case with my paternal grandmother’s family. Granny Shortland’s relatives had been well-known up to the early-1900s for they held high positions within the Church of England and Government. A friend of Tennyson, the Reverend George Bradley had risen to become the Dean of Westminster Abbey. His brothers and sisters had also risen to fame in their spheres of work. These connections, known as ‘gateway ancestors’ enabled the research to progress relatively easily through time to Thomas Bradley – my 8th great-grandfather – who had been Chaplain to King Charles I and later, after the restoration of the monarchy, Charles II. From there the connections to the Beauchamps and even further back are well-researched by historians. It had always been whispered that Granny Shortland had married ‘beneath herself’ – now I know the reasons why!

Visiting: The Collegiate Church of St Mary and The Beauchamp Chapel is open to visitors free of charge. Guided tours (which are well worth doing) are available at a modest cost, as is a climb to the top of the tower to view the town and beyond. Details can be found on their website here.

Warwick Castle is impressive and a popular attraction. It was the home of the Beauchamps but was built in the 11th century by command of William the Conqueror. It is possible to stay in the castle for short breaks. More details can be found here

There is a useful website (click here) if you are planning a visit to Warwick, which is situated a few miles south of the city of Birmingham and north-west of London.

2024: A Year in Review – part 1

Posted on January 4, 2025 by johnshortlandwriter

As we enter the new year it’s always a good time to reflect on the past twelve months as well as to look forward to what 2025 may bring. For me, 2024 has been a busy year. I remember many years ago an ‘old boy’ telling me that when you reach the age of sixty, life is downhill all the way. I was in my thirties at the time and so believed him. I’m now in my early seventies and I can’t say that I agree with his pessimism. Funnily enough, he lived well into his nineties and, for most of that time, enjoyed rude health so he proved himself wrong too! The only way to tackle ageing, I’ve decided, is to embrace its positive aspects – no mortgage, wisdom (ha-ha!) and more time to do the things that matter to you. Of course, good health is important and maintaining balance and staying active helps no end. One of the reasons why I’ve not retired completely.

Tewkesbury, a town in Gloucestershire on the River Severn – the UK’s longest river – is just a few miles from the edge of the Cotswolds. It’s an ancient town that I have driven through dozens of times but early in the year I made the effort to actually stop and explore its narrow streets and abbey church. I hadn’t realised that when entering the church I would be staring at a suspended globe which, when standing 211 metres away from it, is the exact size and view of Planet Earth you would see if standing on the moon. When I first saw it ‘suitable’ music was being played but it was only after that had stopped that I found the exhibit strangely moving as it rotated slowly in total silence. That’s another thing I’ve noticed as I’ve grown older – how much I enjoy silence! The church is well worth visiting for it is now almost one thousand years since it was built and is one of the finest examples of early Norman architecture in Britain. Unable to visit? Then click on the link here to see lots of photos.

*The abbey church looms over the ancient houses and narrow streets of Tewkesbury*

In March, we travelled north to the county of Yorkshire to watch a friend take part in the oldest horse race in the country. The Kiplingcotes Derby has been run annually since 1519. Tradition sys that if it ever stops taking place it will never happen again so all through the Covid restrictions only one horse took part! For this race, the 505th, dozens of riders took part for it is a horse race like no other: no finely maintained racecourse but a series of roads, lanes, field margins and tracks, a real test of endurance for both horse and rider. Our friend, who had never raced before was taking part to raise money in support of the local hospice. She reached the finishing post in good time and raised over ten thousand pounds in memory of a close friend. The race has one other completely bizarre quirk which makes it unique in the world of horse racing – to find out what that is you’ll need to click on this link here!

*The oldest, continuously-run horse race in the UK*

Later, in early summer we returned to Yorkshire for a week’s holiday spent in the pretty village of Austwick. We had planned to spend our time walking for it is excellent hiking country. However, my partner was nursing a broken foot and, later, during a hill walk on my own there, I hurt my knee badly so we were both hobbling about instead (what was I saying about staying active?!) There is always a positive outcome to everything, I find, and so we explored by car instead where we discovered the Courtyard Dairy. To misquote Paul Whitehouse, “if you like cheese, you’ll like these” for we’d stumbled across one of the top, award-winning artisan cheese makers in the country. With a restaurant, small museum, ice-cream and wine shops as well as a huge selection of cheeses, we were in our element. For lots of photos of the trip – and not just of blocks of cheese, click here.

*The Courtyard Dairy – one of England’s finest artisan cheese shops*

*There are beautiful walks around the Yorkshire village of Austwick*

I have been very fortunate in not just living in a beautiful part of the country but also being able to make my living from being in the midst of it. However, that hasn’t always been the case for before I embarked on my horticultural career I spent twenty years in the world of retail fashions. When I left school I spent some months on a sheep farm on Exmoor – the remote, hill country, now a National Park, in the West Country. That short time farming changed my life for I met some wonderful and inspirational people there who left me with a yearning for the outdoor life, However, I was dragged away by my parents to work in the small department store which had been central to my family for the best part of a hundred years. Fortunately, I had a happy time there but the desire to be spending my days outdoors never left me. This spring it was thirty years since I sold the business to follow my dream and so it seemed a good time to reflect on those retailing years.

*The family store in 1994 when it was sold*

A few months later the blog post (link here) had developed into a full-blown illustrated talk to over seventy people followed by press interviews and a printed history of the store which had been started by my great-grandfather. I am delighted that the story of the family’s endeavour has now been recorded for posterity. By complete coincidence, I was also contacted by Exmoor Magazine and my memories of farming at Brendon Barton have been included in an article on Dick and Lorna French who were the couple who welcomed me into their lives – and changing mine by doing so.

*Recorded for posterity – the history of my family’s department store*

At the age of 42 I took myself off to study landscape and estate management for two years at agricultural college. It was a huge gamble and one that fortunately came off for I found employment as Head Gardener to the European Youth Parliament, an educational charity that brought teenagers from all over Europe to debate world affairs. With some Polish blood in me I liked the idea of being part of the organisation. Next, and still in England, I spent some happy years working for a delightful Swedish family – even after my role as Head Gardener had ended I maintained contact with them as Consultant overseeing projects such as the creation of a lake and an arboretum. My next move was to the Cotswolds to manage an historic garden, Kiddington Hall, designed by the architect who had created the Houses of Parliament. It was after that, that I decided to go freelance which culminated in the career in designing and creating gardens as well as the commission to write the gardening book.

*The historic gardens at Kiddington Hall*

Little did I think, when I began college that my career would include a stint at the Chelsea Flower Show, Channel 4 Television, creating a new literary festival and a study tour of Hungary. My latest – and final – garden project has been the most exciting to date. How fortunate have I been?! As before, the press picked up on the thirty year career change and a double-page spread in the Bucks Free Press newspaper followed. To read more about the gardens I’ve created, or just to enjoy the photos, click on the link here.

30 Years On – Sadness & Celebration (part two)

Posted on May 6, 2024 by johnshortlandwriter

Earlier I wrote about the sadness felt within my family, as well as the wider community, at the closure of our small department store that bore the family name, Shortlands. It had spanned the generations for almost one hundred years, firstly as Langstons – my great-grandfather’s surname, and then, after one of his sales assistants married the boss’s daughter, renamed Arthur Shortland. Clever chap, my grandad! Later still, during my tenure, the ‘Arthur’ was dropped. I locked the doors for the final time thirty years ago this spring. Last month seemed an appropriate time to celebrate its history and tell the story, not just of our family connection, but also of the incredible people that worked there over the decades. It can be read in Part One by c lick ing on the link here. I found the response to that blog incredible with so many people contacting me through my website or social media. It was lovely, as well as humbling, to hear their memories and to know that Shortlands had not been forgotten after such a length of time. Although I gave a hint in the blog, I was also asked what have I been doing since 1994. In this post, Part Two, I bring the story up to the present date.

A reaction to my choice of careers that I receive quite regularly is one of surprise. Surprise that I once worked in the world of fashion, and wearing a suit and tie each day, or surprise that I am now working outdoors and wearing jeans and a t-shirt – although, I do have to look smarter on occasion [laughs]. When my retail career of twenty-five years ended, I was in my early forties and my future looked uncertain. I toyed with various career plans, none of which appealed very much. Unsure of what to do next, I decided to take a night class at our local agricultural college, Hall Place at Burchett’s Green. Little did I realise, on the evening of my enrolment, that I would soon be working at the Chelsea Flower Show, working on a gardening series for Channel 4 television or travelling to Hungary, only recently free from Russian occupation, on a horticultural study tour.

My visit to Hall Place had ended not with a night class but a two-year, full-time crammer course in Horticulture where I studied Landscape & Estate Management. Gardening had been the major hobby across the Shortland family for generations; I was the first in modern times to try and make a career of it. Knowing I still had a mortgage to pay, and therefore failure wasn’t an option, I studied hard in a way that I had never managed in my school days and came away with a good qualification. By then, I knew that I wanted to run gardens for large country estates. I had the good fortune to be offered, during my training, a work placement with the Getty family, then the wealthiest in the world. Their Head Gardener, Andrew Banbury, gave me various tasks and projects to carry out, frequently pushing me beyond my comfort zone. I have a lot to be grateful to Andrew for. When it was time for me to leave, I stepped straight into the role of managing gardens for a Swedish family who, again, were keen for me to develop further skills as well as their garden. Over the next few years, I had the opportunity to develop an arboretum, create a lake and, best of all, to manage and develop a one-acre walled kitchen garden.

*The new lake two years after construction*

The Millennium saw a change once again for I left the Chilterns and the area I had known all my life and moved to the Cotswolds, there to manage an historic, Italianate Garden, Kiddington Hall. This had new challenges but, although I enjoyed it enormously, the call of working for myself once again beckoned. In 2005 I set up a design and landscaping business which, I am glad to say, flourished; now I have virtually retired.

One of my last projects had been designing and overseeing a garden that has many elements to it: a 50 metre ha-ha, a cottage garden, formal lawns, terraces, topiary, wildflower meadows and kitchen garden, most of which have been created from scratch. As I watched the garden come to shape, with all the hard work being carried out by the owner’s own team of builders and gardeners, how grateful I was that I could now ‘pull the age card’ and let others do the physical tasks!

When I moved to the Cotswolds in 2001, for the first time in my life I was no longer ‘a local’ and knew no-one. Hearing that Oxfordshire was one of the few counties without a Gardens Trust and that one was being formed, I volunteered and for several years organised talks and visits to gardens which introduced me to many new people. One, hearing of my attempts at writing suggested I joined the local writers group. Feeling very out-of-place I did and before long the talk of ‘doing something big’ with books came about. From those very casual thoughts I found myself part of a small team that created the Chipping Norton Literary Festival. My title of Author, Agent and Publisher Liaison brought me into contact with many people in the literary world and soon I was commissioned by one to write a book on gardening. Three years later it was me being interviewed and giving talks on stage and the radio, a surreal experience.

*Being interviewed at the Chipping Norton Literary Festival*

Looking back over the past thirty years I realise just what a chance I took with my career choice and how fortunate I was for it to have ended well. It has taken me on the most incredible of journeys and given me the opportunity to meet/work with some very special people and places. It has had both tearful and joyful moments – it has also had bizarre and funny ones too: being invited to play in a ‘friendly’ cricket match only to find myself bowled out for two by the Captain of South Africa, or sharing an ice cream with American model, and ex-wife of Mick Jagger, Jerry Hall, these being just two of them. As with the shop, it has been a mix of celebration and sadness. I am so grateful that I have had the privilege of two careers both of which I can look back on with pleasure and a certain degree of pride.

Thirty Years On – Sadness & Celebration (part one)

Posted on April 14, 2024 by johnshortlandwriter

How time flies by. I know that’s a bit of a cliché to open with but, even so, it hardly seems possible that thirty years could have passed since that early spring day in 1994 when I locked the door of Shortlands clothing and footwear store for the very last time, and wondering where my career would go to next. I was in my early forties and knew that I would have to do something to earn my keep and pay the mortgage but what? It was a time of great sadness, not just for me and my family but also for our loyal staff some of whom had been with us for many years. Thirty years on it seems time to write the shop’s story to celebrate it having been at the centre of community life for the best part of a hundred years.

The shop that was to become Shortlands began with my great-grandfather, William Bradby Langston, who had already established shops in Marlow High Street and in nearby Lane End. He was quite entrepreneurial, something he and his brothers inherited from their mother. Poor Sophia, widowed in 1863 at the age of 34 with five children under the age of 13 and a baby due at any time needed to provide for herself and her family. She set up a shop in her front living room which later expanded to become Langstons Department Store in Reading, Berkshire. As well as those already mentioned, she and her sons between them also had shops in Boscombe (Hampshire) and Ilford (Essex). Unsurprisingly, she is remembered as being rather a force to be reckoned with – you can read her life story, Rebel in the Family, by clicking here.

*The first generations of retailers*
*l to r: My great-great grandmother Sophia Langston (nee Bradby); my great-grandfather William Bradby Langston; my grandfather Arthur Shortland*

William opened his ‘Boot and Shoe Warehouse’ in Marlow in 1884 at the age of 22. Seven years later he opened another, opposite the first, specialising in boating and tennis shoes as well as other sporting footwear. When a newly built parade of shops became available in Bourne End in 1899 he established what was to become Shortlands. At first the shop was tiny but by 1904 he had expanded to sell not just shoes but also mens and boys clothing. Four years later William’s daughter, Nellie, married Arthur Shortland who had come to Marlow to work for William a few years earlier. The newly married couple came to Bourne End and by 1915 Arthur was listed as the owner in Kelly’s Directory.

*Langstons – the Bourne End branch c1910*

The shop continued to prosper and during the 1920s the adjoining shop was purchased and ladies clothing and footwear as well as carpets, haberdashery, dress fabrics and knitting wools, soft furnishings, household linens and luggage were added to create Bourne End’s own department store. The 1920s photo below shows my grandfather Arthur using the steam (clothes) press although it was a (much hated!) task given to my father Hedley as soon as he returned from school.

*Langstons, now expanded and with my grandfather’s name on the fascia 1920s*

*My grandfather, Arthur Shortland using the steam press*,*1920s*

With the outset of WW2 my father joined the army and it was left to the older generation, including my great-aunt Edith Shortland, to run the business. Both the Langstons and the Shortlands were deeply religious and scrupulous in the way they behaved towards others. My mother would tell the story of how when some silk stockings arrived (which were rationed and in short supply) she rather assumed that she would have a pair. She was told quite firmly that her name would go on the bottom of the list like anyone else – she never did get her stockings. Aunt Edie was quite diminutive but with a voice that belied her stature. One day she spotted a lady conceal some goods inside her coat. “Jesus saw you do that” came a thundering voice from nowhere; the woman screamed, dropped the goods and her shopping and was last seen running down the street fearing the wrath of God was upon her! After the war, my father returned to the business along with his brother Jack, later to be joined by their cousin Maurice Phipps.

During the 1960s the shop expanded again. The garden and old shoe repair workshops at the rear of the property were built over and a new shopfront installed. Made of aluminium, it was considerably ahead of its time and was featured in several design magazines both here and on the Continent. By the late 1970s both my father and my uncle Jack had died and soon after the shop was due for another major refit. The interior, as well as the fascia, was modernised and the displays became more open and accessible to customers. Until that time stock was kept hidden away in drawers and boxes – if you wanted to buy something it was necessary to ask and an assistant would show what was available. Personal service, nowadays a rarity, was the norm back then. How times have changed! To make space for the improved selection of clothing, all of the other departments closed and the shop concentrated on mens and womens fashions and footwear for all the family. The toiletries and gift department was retained; the soaps and potpourri helping to make the shop always smell rather nice!

*The ‘new and modern’ shopfront in 1969 featured in design magazines* *of the time* – *by the 1990s it was looking tired and old-fashioned*

*By the 1990s the displays were brighter and (to use 2020s speak) more ‘on trend’*

I suppose it was because the shop was ‘always there’ that we have no photographs of the shop interior through the decades which is rather sad. Fortunately, I did take a few in the early 1990s and these will probably trigger some memories for local people. The 1990s brought new challenges for the business with recession and changing shopping habits sounding the death knell for businesses like ours. I had joined the firm in 1971 and my business partner, John Pheby had begun even earlier, as a lad, working for the family. It was a hard but inevitable decision that we decided to close and were fortunate to find a buyer almost immediately. They converted the property to three shops and the accommodation and stockrooms above to flats. Since that time Bourne End has changed quite considerably and most of the old shop names (and several of the buildings too) have disappeared. I believe that there must be photos of the interior held by local people somewhere – it would be wonderful to see them. I seem to recall Jean Peasley taking photos during our last few days…

*a small section of the* *Ladies Fashions Department* *1990*

So, what happened to our employees? In the early days of my tenure there was Ivy Taplin (Akela to us cubs of the late 50s!), Yvonne Ludgate, June Charlton (later to become June Billinghurst), Cissy Hyde, Mrs Faulkner, Liz Hill and Diana Spokes. Later, Pauline Harvey, Marjorie Kane, Wendy Manley, David and Marian Bratter, Diane Douneen, Kath Bowdrey, Iris Halstead and Cissy Vickers. I’m afraid I can’t remember the names of them all but some of those listed will be familiar to Bourne End locals – please don’t be offended if I have left you out, you were all valued! The younger generation I purposely have not named but they aren’t forgotten either – I still keep in touch with several of them thanks to social media. It was thanks to a succession of great staff through the years that the business was so successful. It seems appropriate to thank our loyal customers too – I can still picture many of them and the frequent kind comments that I still receive on social media shows that they haven’t forgotten Shortlands either which, after all this time, is rather humbling as well as very special.

And what have I been doing the past thirty years? Retailing had been a passion for my family for generations but I decided to follow another of the Shortland passions and forge a new and very different career – you’ll have to wait a short while for part two to find out what but the photo below may give a clue!

Part Two of this blog focussing on the last thirty years is now published and can be found by clicking on the link here

Seeking Great-Aunt Ba-ba

Posted on February 23, 2015 by johnshortlandwriter

Some people make a lasting impression on you and in the case of Great-aunt Ba-ba it was just as well for I only met her once as a child when she was very elderly. Someone of twenty seems ancient to a youngster, as for being ninety, I just couldn’t get over anyone being that old or that much fun.

photo take by me about 1965, which means she would have been born around 1875

Great-aunt Ba-ba was a ‘spinster of the parish’, a description that conjures up a sad and somewhat diminished individual whereas in reality, if she was anything to go by, they were far from that. Lively and interesting, I adored her instantly but was too young to ask her any questions about her life. I doubt if I would have been told much anyway for that generation were far too busy living in the present: perhaps the effect of surviving two world wars.

On the left, about 1925

One story I heard many times from my father was of how when he and his brother were sent to stay with her in the school holidays they were allowed to run wild, something that wouldn’t have been tolerated by their strict parents. This would have been about 1920 and to reach Rudgwick in Sussex from the Thames Valley took the whole day. Once there they would spend all day running free through the woods and cowslip-ing in the meadows. On trips to the south coast my father would always make time for a detour to show me his playground and Aunt Ba-ba’s wonderful house.

about 1918-20

So how did she get her pet name? I have no idea – I understand that her real name was Frances White – and there is no one now left alive that can answer the question. Perhaps her name was Barbara, or is that too simple an explanation? I had another great aunt that was called ‘Toddles’ so perhaps silly names were just a family thing!

1940’s?

I’d always assumed that Frances White was just a family friend for, in days past, it was customary for children to call them aunt or uncle out of respect. Recently I have discovered another old family photograph – that of Charles William Langston-White and this could be a missing link. His mother Norah Langston (my first cousin twice removed, whatever that means) married James William White in 1909 – he was born in Sussex.

“aged 3yrs 3mths” so taken June 1916

Could Great-aunt Ba-ba have been related to this White family? I would have thought it probable but, so far, my researches have drawn a blank and I have found no trace of her having even existed in the public record books. Fortunately I have these few photos of her and my memory to prove she existed.

If there are any enthusiastic genealogists or amateur sleuths reading this I will be grateful if you can find out more.