Monday, June 22, 2009

winchelsea+the red house


Moira+I had a lovely time with good friends Felicity+Chris in East Sussex over the weekend. On Saturday, we had a beautiful walk from Winchelsea to the sea (about a mile and a half away), along the shingle beach and then back across the Pett Level marshland. Still can’t quite get my head around the fact that the town was designated one of the Cinque Ports and had apparently become a “significant port” by the middle of the twelfth century. The town was built on a massive shingle bank and was thought to have first been established as a Saxon fishing settlement sometime after 800AD.
Yesterday, we drove to Bexleyheath to see the Red House – commissioned by William Morris in 1859; designed and built by architect Phillip Webb. I was familiar with the house and its significance within the history of the Arts and Crafts Movement, but had never visited until yesterday. The only way to see the interior was to sign up for a guided tour. This proved to be something of an ordeal! The experience felt like being shown round the house by Margaret Thatcher in her hey day – we were lectured (and I mean “lectured”) on a wide range of matters and all her opinions were offered as being absolutely definitive. At one time, Chris started to wander off and was treated like a very naughty schoolboy!
The house was impressive (if a little empty) but the woman was awful!
Photo: Felicity, Chris+Moira walking along Winchelsea shingle beach.

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