Next, through the pages of the National Geographic Magazine, we're traveling to the east coast of England, to the part known as "Fenland." North to south, it's approximately in the center of the east coast. Christopher Marlowe, the author, describes the history of Fenland and his journey there in "A Tour in the English Fenland," May, 1929.
"The fen country has been described as the cradle of the English race. . .Originally the whole land was a forest of oak, ash, fir, and nut trees. Then, in the second century, there was an earthquake, and the sea submerged this forest" (p. 605). Since then, starting with the Romans, efforts have been made to reclaim the fertile land by building dikes and embankments. The local villagers have opposed these projects and blocked them, feeling that it would damage their fishing and hunting possibilities.
"Finally Oliver Cromwell (seventeenth century) put down all opposition by force" (p. 605) and enlisted the services of a Dutch engineer. Canals and windmills were built; much land was reclaimed. In 1929, there were plans to reclaim even more fertile agricultural land from the salt marshes. I have vague memories of visiting windmills in Holland with my parents in the late 1940's. The photos on p. 632 and 633 look identical to those I remember.
Mr. Marlowe passed through the towns of 'New York' and 'Boston!' Are any names of our American towns not copies of English towns? Of course, I know the answer to that question: yes. We have an incredible number of wonderful original names for our towns and cities, but - we have borrowed a lot from England.
Crowland Abbey has been in ruins for hundreds of years, another result of King Henry VIII's greed. The town of Lincoln, one of the oldest cities in England, has a gateway built by the Romans "about the dawn of the Christian era" (photo caption, p. 610).
"Near Peterborough are the fenland bulb plantations, which constitute a most important industry. Practically every farm devotes acres to the cultivation of tulips" (p. 616). How interesting! Again, I remember staring at fields of red tulips in Holland as a four-year-old. They were magnificent!
I enjoy researching some of the places I've read about in these old magazine issues to see how they've grown. In 1929, Peterborough had 45,000 citizens. Today, there are approximately 185,000. I couldn't find out if they still maintain the tulip bulb farms.
There is another eight-page section of beautiful color photos. I love the architecture of the English stucco homes with their brown wooden boards at different angles. Some of the roofs in these 1929 photos appear thatched (the Irish pronounce this 'tatched'.) and some appear slate. Some of my favorite residences here in Lexington, Kentucky, U.S.A., have this same English architecture.
FYI: you may be interested in why I add "U.S.A." after one of our American states in my various blog entries. The blog service counts the number of visitors to each blog and the part of the world from which they originate. Although I would never know any individual persons or e-mail addresses, I have readers from continental United States, Alaska, and the very large country of Russia. I'll have to learn how to say "Welcome!" in Russian! And "Welcome!" to one and all!
That another country may have had witch trials such as the early Americans held at Salem, Massachusetts, never occurred to me. Such trials were held in 1589 in the town of Warboys, England, in the Fenland. In one case, not only the confessed witch was executed but also her husband and daughter.
In Nottinghamshire is a historical marker of interest to U.S.A. citizens: "On the Three Hundredth Anniversary of the Sailing of the Mayflower with the Pilgrim Fathers to New England, this tablet was unveiled by the representatives of the Anglo-American Society in commemoration of the heroic virtues of the little band of lovers of truth and freedom which first met in this place. (Other side:) This tablet is erected by the Pilgrim Society of Plymouth, Massachusetts, United States of America to mark the site of the ancient manor house where lived William Brewster, from 1588 to 1608, and where he became ruling elder, and with which, in 1608, he removed to Amsterdam, in 1609 to Leyden, and in 1620 to Plymouth where he died April 16, 1644."
It is truly admirable, the lengths the British go to while preserving their history. "In the village of Wicken is preserved a square mile of absolutely undrained marsh, where one can see plants and flowers and swallow-tailed butterflies which formerly were everywhere in this district. . .A tour in the English fenland had proved a unique experience" (p. 634).
Think I'll go have some English tea!
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