Thursday 12 October 2006

St Johns Church ,Little Gidding

On the last day of Maurices holiday last month ,we decided to visit a' little' church ,nearer home,well as the crow flies ! and over the A1 in the county of Huntingdonshire are 'The Giddings'..Steeple Gidding ,Great Gidding and Little Gidding,at the latter is a very small church set in a field,we have been before ,but it is such a nice peaceful place to visit ....We drove up the narrow road little more than a cart track ,past the cottages that are used as a retreat,and onto the car park ,down the little path to the church, here we met a gentleman putting a poster onto the notice board ,he told us he and his wife live in the adjoining house ,where the Ferrar family who had restored the church,in the 1620's had lived,The Pilgramage and Retreat house offers hospitality to visitors to the church.Many people are interested in the connections with T S Eliot or George Herbert.When he asked us where we came from ,he exclaimed he was reading a book by an Author who had been born there .a favourite of mine too ! Sybil Marchant ,and when I looked her up on the internet, I discovered she had died only last year .I felt bereaved as though I had just missed her some how, her books are set in the 50's and 60's when England was changing and are of course set in the Fens ,and about the familys who lived there during those times ,and before ,and she captures the dialects and colloquialisms perfectly ,I am reading 'Nest of Magpies again ',and plan to read others by her a set of four but unfortunately ,I am missing the third one in the series 'Strip the willow'Miss Marchant also wrote charming books from her late fathers diarys ,one called 'A Silver New Nothing '.....after our visit into the church we sat awhile in the gardens of Ferrar house after going for a look inside ......

If you care to check out this site you can visit the church for your self   http://www.littlegiddingchurch.org.uk 

Gidding is probablythe oldest place name in Huntingdonshire,It derives fromthe same Anglo Saxon root as the word 'giddy',and refers to singing and dancing-and means being possessed by God,Giddings was my maiden name !

and another nice thing! I opened my mail on Saturday morning and found Sugar had sent me this charming siggy which I feel fits this entry so well ....thankyou dear Sugar .....

39 comments:

Anonymous said...

Beautfiul Jan!
d

Anonymous said...

Lovely church Jan. You could try a google search for your missing book, or even ebay. You'd be surprised what's out there. B. x

Anonymous said...

Hi Jan - just beautiful :o)
Luv Jayne x
http://journals.aol.co.uk/funnyface0s0/SingleGirl

Anonymous said...

Lovely entry Jan very interesting. Did a bit of surfing for the missing book but no luck as yet. Love Joan.

Anonymous said...

your book will be with you soon mother!!!! love Joanne

Anonymous said...

How lovely !  I really enjoyed your visit and felt like I was on one too !  I love the history of places like this.  It's so nice they are keeping the place as a retreat.  It really seems fitting. Your trips are treasures for all of us to see.  I hope your day is blessed with sunshine and smiles .  'On Ya' - ma

Anonymous said...

The church is beautiful. I see Your daughter has found your missing book. Good for her. Helen

Anonymous said...

I love these photos!  My husband and I love nothing more than to go for a tramp together through a building such as this on our free days.  Lucky you to live near such a gem!  I love your choice of reading material as well!  Great minds think alike it would seem!
Marie
http://journals.aol.co.uk/mariealicejoan/MariesMuses/

Anonymous said...

Beautiful pictures.  What a precious little church.  I'd say  the UK does a wonderful job preserving their old buildings.  Linda in WA

Anonymous said...

Awesome entry!
Sugar

Anonymous said...

Lovely entry Jan, so enjoyed seeing the little church. Lol at your surname being Giddings....no, I won't say what I am thinking lol.  That author sounds interesting, I might well see if I can obtain a couple of her books.  Did you know that the fen country was also well known for drugs growing in Victorian times?

http://journals.aol.co.uk/jeanno43/JeannettesJottings/

Anonymous said...

hi Jan...great entry, lovely pics too!

Astra!

Anonymous said...

What a lovely and interesting entry Jan ~ I just loved the photographs ~ and what a beautiful little church that is ~ Ally

Anonymous said...

Another lovely entry. I like the way so many of us are sharing the places we live and visit, it's such a good way to learn more about other parts of the world.

Linda x.

http://journals.aol.co.uk/lindaggeorge/GeorgeMansions/

Anonymous said...

Hi Jan,what a lovely church ,the photos you have taken are so good .As I told you we went to the Christning at Thorney Abbey and that was nice to see inside,Pete said Gill and Reg were married there but he couldn't remember much of it as he said he'd only be about five at the time .I think I would like to read the Sybil Marchant books again some time.Sugars siggy fitted the bill nicely in your interesting entry........Love Jeanxx

Anonymous said...

Hi Jan! What a lovely little church! I love all that old wood in there and the bell outside, it's like an old Incan church bell! The history is interesting too. It's nice to know you're possessed by God rather than the devil! Lol! Jeannette xx  

Anonymous said...

Oh, I loved that picture tour of the church, Jan!  I do have a question.  Who did they bury in the little cemetary?  Towns people? Or just clergy?  I'm just curious.  I can see how you would feel peaceful there.  I love cemetaries.. they always bring me peace when I visit them.
Thanks for sharing the pictures, and a bit more history of England!  I love it!

Hugs
Jackie

Anonymous said...

What a beautiful church! Thank you so much for sharing. :o)
Lisa

Anonymous said...

wonderful:)

Deb

Anonymous said...

Dear Jan
how interesting! was TS Eiot religious? who are those other people?poets? hugs!
love,natalie

Anonymous said...

A lovely entry Jan,  I love old churches as you may know and I was really interesting to see photos of this beautiful little building.  You are so lucky to live in such lovely surroundings, I`m quite envious.  Isn`t it sad when we lose a favourite author.  I felt much the same when Mary Wesley died, I found her books an inspiration, it`s such a pity that there won`t be any more.

Sandra xxxx

Anonymous said...

Did get the alert for this Jan, am only now getting round to it. Enjoy this sort of story, you know a lot about your county

Guido
http://journals.aol.co.uk/pharmolo/NorthernTrip

Anonymous said...

Sugar must know you so well!! x
bella x

Anonymous said...

I like reading Sybil Marchant books, not read any of those that you have mentioned I will have to look out for them, I love to visit old chuches, and read all the history that I can about them, going to visit the site for Little Gedding Chuch now and have a look at that one
take care Lynne xx
P.S. didnt get the alert for this entry thanks for sending it to me x

Anonymous said...

Jan
I enjoyed the tour of the church, the pictures were great!  It was interesting to learn that the church was restored in 1620, that means it is actually much older than that.  We have almost nothing in the US older than the early 1700's.  It is always enjoyable getting these glimpses into your history rich country.
Sam

Anonymous said...

Oh this little church is my heart!  Thank you so much for sharing this tour.  I am always looking for new British authors to read.  I feel like I'm in a candy store with all sorts of new candy to try out.  I've written down the books you listed by Sybil Marchant and will try the library first.  

Susie
http://journals.aol.co.uk/susanebunn/ItAllStartsAfter50/

Anonymous said...

Jan, what a lovely, beautifully kept little church.  An absolute gem.  I share your love of books - wonderful to switch off, and enter another world.  Must try to find some Sybil Marchant......Bunny xx

Anonymous said...

How lucky you were to be able to visit this church!  

I stopped by to Trick or Treat.  Stop by me and say Boo!
http://journals.aol.com/mrsm711/LatteDah/entries/2006/10/12/trick-or-treat-through-j-land/719
Tracy

Anonymous said...

Oh my Giddy Aunt! Have you heard that saying and do you think it might come from there??? All very interesting anyway!
http://journals.aol.co.uk/irisclyde/LaDolceVita

Anonymous said...

What a charming little church.  I love the stained glass windows and the interior of the church.  Thank you so much for sharing it with us!
Kathy  

Anonymous said...

The church is lovely and looks like it belongs on a postcard. Gracious, you were born possessed by God! I guess it pays to be a bit giddy after all!!!
Yes, the UK is redundant with marvelous writers and poets. I've not heard of Ms. Marchant but you have a wealth of talent over the pond there!
Nice entry and interesting!
Dianna

Anonymous said...

One of my favorite things to do, visit little old churches. Paula

Anonymous said...

Fascinating site, Jan.  I never knew where the word giddy originated.  It is used quite extensively in the US.  Funny that your maiden name was the root word.  xx  Chris

Anonymous said...

Ooh, that's so interesting, especially about your last name!

I love the pictures, that looks like such a great place.

I apologize for not stopping by to see you in so long, I'm way behind on alerts.

Hope you're having a good weekend,

Morgan
xxxx
http://journals.aol.com/Sneezy7125/RandomThoughts

Anonymous said...

Thank you for sharing the pictures of the church. It's lovely.
I really need to come to your lovely land.
Pam

Anonymous said...

Hi Jan. . thought I had left a comment on the lovely little church. . I would have liked this trip too.I will look out for the book too

Anonymous said...

Oh how I love those pictures you took.  

Anonymous said...

That is such a dear little church....I did look at it on the site. it's another interesting place you have shared with us! Linda xx
http://journals.aol.co.uk/lindachapmanuk/metamorphing/

Anonymous said...

I came to your journal via your nomination for Lady of the Blog.  I am very interested in the authors you talk about.  I always like a reader who discusses books in her journal.  Now that is a find.  I have read a lot of English novels, but not lately. My companion, Doc, is always interrupting the football game to run English TV shows he has recorded. He is very fond of Monty Python. You can be sure I will be back to read your descriptions of storied England as well.  Gerry