Monday, September 19, 2005
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The Marys of East Ham

This weekend we took in a couple of sights on the annual Open House London. Mrs. Dunce has special interest in medieval churches, so what better opportunity to visit a St. Mary or two? Both in East Ham which is an area neither of us had visited before. We started at St. Mary the Virgin in Little Ilford, a small 12th century chapel (pictured here, 1984 archaeological report here). Most interesting to me was the Lethieullier chapel (sometime between 1724 and 1737), built above the family's vault and (it seemed) nearly half the size of the church itself. The Lethieulliers were wealthy Huguenots who owned the nearby manor of Aldersbrook and the chapel has a number of family memorials (one Mrs. Lethieullier met her end in a tragic coach crash, landing on her head). But not for their faithful servant who is buried in the churchyard (you wouldn't want the HELP buried in the FAMILY CRYPT!!). Someone has taken the time to document the headstone inscriptions in the churchyard, and in case you wonder what kind of plants can be found in the churchyard, here you are.

Just in the area of St. Mary the Virgin is an impressive Hindu temple, in the process of being built (or renovated). Further investigation has revealed it to be the London Shri (Sri?) Murugan temple which just opened at the end of May. When I remember to bring my photos with me I'll post a picture as it was quite impressive and unexpected (and a cursory Web search or three didn't find anything either).

We then caught a bus, heading south toward the Beckton Alp Dry Ski Slope [EDIT: apparently it is no longer dry], "a totem signifying the pervasive regulatory influence of Panopticism in contemporary urban culture" (as Iain Sinclair put it, not entirely to everyone's satisfaction). Or as Billy Bragg puts it, "where the upwardly mobile residents of East Ham can practice their skiing on the artificial ski slopes. When I was a child this commanding height was the blackened slag heap of what was once the biggest gasworks in the world. Now grassed over and with a ski lift on top it has become the Cockney Klosters.". In any event, we didn't quite reach the Alp, stopping just the other side of the A13 at St. Mary Magdalene, the oldest Norman church in London that is still in regular use (according to their Web site, anyway). Mrs. Dunce has special interest in seeing bits of medieval paint on church walls, and there were some nice restored bits of decorative paint with a flower motif, painted by Cistercian monks before they headed oop north to do some similar painting in Durham. There are some very interesting bits, like an anchorite's cell and the Neville family monument ("Unfortunately the smallest child has been stolen"). The church's web site offers a "virtual tour" that reminds me a lot of text adventures of the early 1980s: "Now you are in the grounds you can look around the outside, go into the church, or explore the nature reserve. If you come on a Sunday morning or Wednesday evening you could attend a service. You would be very welcome".

:ATTEND SERVICE
...COME BACK ON A SUNDAY MORNING OR WEDNESDAY EVENING.
...
:WAIT
...TIME PASSES
...
:ATTEND SERVICE
...COME BACK ON A SUNDAY MORNING OR WEDNESDAY EVENING.
:WAIT
...TIME PASSES
...
:ATTEND SERVICE
...COME BACK ON A SUNDAY MORNING OR WEDNESDAY EVENING.
...
:INVENTORY
...YOU HAVE
...A LIGHT BULB
...A SCRAP OF PAPER
...A CORKSCREW
...A FIVE-POUND NOTE
...
:EXAMINE SCRAP
...?SYNTAX ERROR?
...
:LOOK SCRAP
...THE SCRAP OF PAPER READS,
..."STAY INDOORS AT NIGHT".
...
:LOOK
...NOW YOU ARE IN THE GROUNDS YOU CAN LOOK AROUND THE OUTSIDE, GO INTO THE CHURCH, OR EXPLORE THE NATURE RESERVE. IF YOU COME ON A SUNDAY MORNING OR WEDNESDAY EVENING YOU COULD ATTEND A SERVICE. YOU WOULD BE VERY WELCOME.
...
:EXPLORE NATURE RESERVE
...YOU WALK INTO A TANGLED THICKET OF TREES.
...YOU ARE IN FELLOWS' WOOD.
...YOU CAN GO NORTHEAST (THE SHORT CUT), EAST (WOODCHIP PATH), WEST (CHURCH CLEARING).
...IT IS GETTING DARK.
...
:GO EAST
...YOU FOLLOW THE WOODCHIP PATH AND COME TO A SMALL CLEARING.
...THERE IS A TREE HERE.
...THE PATH CONTINUES TO THE NORTHEAST, OR TO THE WEST.
...IT IS GETTING DARKER.
...
:GO NORTHEAST
...YOU FOLLOW THE WOODCHIP PATH AND COME TO THE CORNER OF THE NATURE RESERVE.
...THERE IS A SMALL BUILDING HERE.
...A GATE MARKED "EMERGENCY VEHICLE ACCESS" IS TO THE NORTH.
...A PATH GOES TO THE WEST, ANOTHER PATH TO THE SOUTH, A WOODCHIP PATH LEADS SOUTHWEST.
...IT IS COMPLETELY DARK NOW.
...
:OPEN GATE
...THE GATE IS LOCKED.
...IT IS COMPLETELY DARK NOW.
...YOU HEAR THE APPROACH OF FERAL TEEN-AGERS.
...
:ENTER BUILDING.
...THE DOOR IS LOCKED.
...IT IS COMPLETELY DARK NOW.
...THE FERAL TEEN-AGERS ARE VERY NEAR.
...
:GO WEST
...YOUR PATH IS BLOCKED BY SNEERING YOBS.
...ONE OF THEM FLICKS A CIGARETTE INTO THE UNDERBRUSH AS THEY APPROACH YOU.
...BEFORE YOUR FLESH IS TORN FROM YOUR BODY, YOUR LAST THOUGHT IS...
...I SHOULD HAVE GONE INDOORS.


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travel
Monday, September 19, 2005 1:25:51 PM (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)  #    Disclaimer  |  Comments [2]  |  Related posts:
Pinner Open House
A Gazillion Days Ago I mentioned the Glasgow Necropolis and I'm finally writing about it
Visiting Glasgow
Life ain't easy for a boy named Sue
Tottenham Cemetery and Hairy Beasts
Nowy Sacz - Krakow (Day 7:Poland - Slovakia)
Monday, September 19, 2005 10:21:19 PM (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)
:YELL BREE YARK
...?SYNTAX ERROR? DOES NOT UNDERSTAND "YELL"
:SAY BREE YARK
...?SYNTAX ERROR? DOES NOT UNDERSTAND "BREE"
:SAY "BREE YARK"
...?SYNTAX ERROR? DOES NOT UNDERSTAND "BREE YARK"
:ASK FERAL TEEN-AGERS
...THE FERAL TEEN-AGERS JUST WANTED TO BE UNDERSTOOD. THEY GIVE YOU A SCRAP OF PAPER.
:LOOK SCRAP
...THE SCRAP OF PAPER READS,
..."STAY INDOORS AT NIGHT"
:GO INDOORS
...?SYNTAX ERROR?
...YOUR PATH IS BLOCKED BY SNEERING YOBS.
...ONE OF THEM FLICKS A CIGARETTE INTO THE UNDERBRUSH AS THEY APPROACH YOU.
...BEFORE YOUR FLESH IS TORN FROM YOUR BODY, YOUR LAST THOUGHT IS...
...I SHOULD HAVE GONE INDOORS.

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The Thief
Tuesday, September 20, 2005 1:48:27 AM (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)
:LOOK AROUND THE OUTSIDE
...YOU SEE A SMALL OPENING IN THE WALL
:LOOK OPENING
...A SKELETAL HAND REACHES THROUGH THE OPENING AND PULLS YOU INTO THE ANCHORITE'S CELL
:LOOK CELL
...YOU ARE IN AN AREA 3 FEET BY 2 FEET, ABOUT 6 FEET HIGH, BUILT INTO THE THICKNESS OF THE WALL. ON YOUR RIGHT YOU SEE THE SKELETON THAT PULLED YOU THROUGH. THE HAND OF THE ANCHORITE, MANY CENTURIES DEAD, GRASPS YOUR THROAT AND SQUEEZES TIGHTER AND TIGHTER.
...YOUR LAST THOUGHT BEFORE YOU DIE IS
...I SHOULD HAVE GONE TO SYMOND'S YAT

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