Clavering to Manuden - Around Essex (12)

First day of this circumnavigation when the weather has been a bit disappointing
The forecast wasn't great but after the heavy rain over the last few nights I wanted to get out again before all the trees were stripped bare &, in Braintree at least, visibility wasn't too bad
Out on the western border it was a different story: grey & murky to begin with, the fog simply thickened!

Parked in Rickling Green & set out on a circular over increasingly muddy fields towards Clavering, Wednesday's sunny finishing point!

Highlight of the Day: right at the beginning again!
Now, it may look as if I'm going crackers taking yet another picture of a footpath sign & including, for good measure, a defunct & mouldy trig pillar hiding away in a hedge! Not so!
Any other retired souls with nothing better to do with their time than to meander through random web pages may be aware of an unusual & rapidly-spreading hobby.... collecting trig-pillars!
Not uprooting them & taking them home as a garden ornament but visiting them, logging their number & taking a photograph!

No, I haven't taken up the sport, though when the kids were little we often sought them out on Dartmoor when searching for 'letterboxes'!


The only walkers I saw all day were a couple a few years older than me, searching for this elusive stone. I had more faith in my map than they had in theirs & was able to help... much to the relief, I think, of their very tiny & tired-looking dog!

Back in Clavering & I've already disclosed one gruesome tale about the village
Hey-ho! Here's another!
Just to the left of this picturesque scene is the old moat of Clavering Castle & Moat Farm

In 1903 the body of Camille Holland was unearthed here, attracting sight-seers from across the county!

Church of St Mary & St Clement, Clavering
Mostly 15th century: fascinating to read of the village's wealth in the Tudor/Stuart period & its comparative poverty in subsequent centuries

A couple of examples here:
on the left, my favourite of a series of fine brasses &, on the right, an elaborately-carved Elizabethan pulpit

Not unusual to see a 'Benefactions' board such as this in a Parish Church but what intrigues me are the barrels of herring!
Were these imported via the Stort Navigation & Bishop's Stortford?
Seems an awful long way but I don't see any accessible fishing ports closer than the Thames....

.... & yet here's a memorial to a lady whose husband (and brother!) sailed with Captain Cook! And he, a good Yorkshire lad!
For me, this is the most amazing feature of Clavering.... perhaps the world was never such a huge place, after all!

I have several photos taken from this point over the years - I thought it looked a bit sad & battered after the wind & the rain & with a grey sky looming behind..... now, if only I'd been here last week!

Away over the fields to Berden & one of the finest village signs in Essex

Academics have argued about the origin of its name; some preferring 'swine pasture valley', others opting for 'corn valley'

The creator of this sign took both on board & threw in a couple of lucky horseshoes for good measure!
The impressive millennium tapestry can be found in the Church of St Nicholas.... of Santa Claus fame!

Furthest point south today was Manuden & 'The Yew Tree'; on our last visit previous owners had opened early to serve us a drink!

I'd been warned about their fancy prices by a couple of farmers en route but enjoyed their bowl of Irish Lamb Stew (could have been a little fuller... or served with bread!)

Pleasant pub but disappointed they couldn't offer an interesting ale

Nothing left but to head out into the increasing gloom & thickening mist, back over the fields to the car at Rickling Green, an offshoot & partner of the slightly larger Quendon


Cricket has been played on the village green here since the middle of the 19th century & on opposite sides are the pavilion & the pub, both bearing the name 'The Cricketers Arms'!

Another pleasant-enough pub but set out too much like a cafe for my liking, though the restaurant area looked cosier & the staff were very friendly

Beer options rather dull & it did occur to me I've never been here in sunshine or even 'sitting-outside' weather.... I need to be careful in my judgements!

So, what was all that about Santa Claus?
Well, this is where you will find the grave of William Winstanley, 'the man who saved Christmas'!
Defying Cromwell's anti-Christmas legislation, Winstanley held carol services & led festivities for the villagers at his home in Quendon despite the fear of reprisals from Parliamentarian soldiers.
Post-Cromwell he assumed the pen-name of Poor Robin Goodfellow to promote the kind of Christmas Dickens 'pinched' for 'A Christmas Carol'
It's amazing the stories you stumble across when you go for a walk......

Beer of the Day: had to wait until I reached home for a bottle of Woods 'Shropshire Lad' left over from my last visit to that county - darker bitter with a bite that I wish was a bit sharper! Quite like this but have always felt there's something missing! Bit like today's walk..... visibility!