We'll spend the better part of today in Stratford upon Avon. It's only a few miles from Mickelton, so our time in the coach will be very short. Before we leave, however, Peter will provide a brief lecture on Shakespeare, the theatre, and Stratford. It turns out that both Peter and his wife have spent time in regional theatre, so his lecture, in addition to being informative is also surprisingly entertaining.
This is it...Home of the Royal Shakespeare Company--the Swan Theatre. Interestingly enough, this building (once an old and burned out playhouse) was renovated and then given to the English by an American. A Kansan, actually. Fred Koch, Jr., the eldest of the four Koch brothers, provided the funding for this theatre in the 1980s. I describe Fred as "A Koch Brother", but not one of THE two infamous Koch Brothers. Fred spent millions to renovate this old theatre, but I'm sure it was worth every penny when the Queen herself showed up for the Grand Opening and, no doubt, told Fred "Thank You." I hope she did, anyway.
Bruce and I ate lunch on the patio of the theatre, just beside the River Avon. The weather and the atmosphere couldn't have been better.
Lunch finished, we're off to tour Stratford with Peter in the lead, and it is a story-book perfect little town. Or, maybe, not so little. I just learned that its population is upwards of 25,000.
See what I mean? It doesn't get more atmospheric than this. I love it, but it may be a little like our Gunsmoke-inspired Front Street replica back in Dodge City. In the '50s and '60s, we built a bit more to expectation than reality. The English may also have that weakness. No matter...it's beautiful and I'd happily move in.
Peter is quick to point out half-timber designs on various buildings that are authentic, and just as quickly tells us which designs might be a bit more recent; although, recent in England is much farther removed from today than it is in America. I simply liked this because it was so detailed.
Even though more is not always more, I did like this for the creativity involved. If I understood correctly, the timbers on these buildings back in the day, would not have been painted black. Today, apparently, it's a personal decision.
and buildings would look like if the nice white plaster were taken off the outside. This method of construction is called Wattle and Daub. Wattle would be the woven wood pieces, while Daub--which holds
everything together--is a more interesting mixture of wet soil, clay, animal dung (sorry) and straw. I'm guessing it all lasts a good long time, as many of these buildings are hundreds of years old.
Per Wikipedia, this method of construction is still used in many parts of the world because it's economical as well as environmentally sensitive; and it doesn't get much better than that.
WELCOME TO HIDCOTE MANOR GARDENS
Hidcote Manor Garden is nothing, if not pure gorgeousness. It's actually within walking distance of our hotel, but the rains of the past few days have made the Walking Path a bit too treacherous for the Road Scholars, so we arrive in our coach. In a recurring theme today, the creator of this garden, an American, Lawrence Johnston, moved with his mother to England in the first decade of the 20th century. Within ten years or so of his arrival, Lawrence began creating his garden in the fields surrounding the manor. It's called an Arts & Crafts style garden, and I'm fine with that, although not completely sure what that means. I just know that it is very large, varied, and changes character with every turn.
I believe the garden today, besides providing great joy to its many visitors, is involved in historic seed preservation as well as the occasional experimentation. Johnston turned the garden over to the National Trust many years ago and, as far as I'm concerned, they've done a fine job in keeping it up.
I believe, it's just about time to return to our Three Ways House Hotel and meet our other shirt-tail cousin, Linda, who's driven up to spend the evening with us. That's a perfect finale for this fine day.
Nice that a Koch did something non political with his money. 😉
ReplyDeleteYears and years ago, while I was in my gardening craze, someone gave me a beautiful book of the Hidcote Gardens. I spent the summer trying to build a pathway like the one in your photo, running through the shaded area. I used pebbled gravel instead of stone (for obvious reasons!), and produced a close approximation of that scene. It was glorious! That garden was such an inspiration. Don't ask what happened to that book. Gone somewhere in the detritus of years past.
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