The other day as I was glancing through a recent issue of Country Walking Magazine, I came across a walk around the pretty and interesting village of Seend, and I was reminded of a visit I made there a year or two ago. I had to pause for a moment to think of why it was that I had decided to go there. I felt sure it was something a little different from my usual desire to see interesting places, lovely views, learn some history and perhaps investigate some folklore. No, it was something other than that.
Not that Seend doesn’t have all the aspects I usually look for, in fact it has them in bucket loads. Geologically it is interesting as it sits on an outcrop of greensand stone that separates Salisbury Plain from the Avon Vale meaning that you have wonderful views of both of these from the settlement. In a way, you can imagine yourself to be in a kind of no man’s land between the chalk of the south and the cheese of the north of the county. It is a location that has offered many opportunities and it is this aspect that marks the history of Seend.
From fairly early days there has been a settlement on the ridge and from then on its prosperity pretty much followed the ebb and flow of the dominant industry of the time. For instance in the 17th century, a number of wealthy clothiers made their homes in the village and commenced building some of the large manors that exist predominantly in the southern part of the village. No doubt this location was chosen so as to enjoy the far reaching views of Salisbury Plain. Over the years a number of families such as the Somners, Awdrys, Bruges, Lockes and of course, the Seymours owned land here. At one point the antiquary John Aubrey, a friend of the Somners who, at that time, lived in the Green House had thought the spring waters good enough for Seend to become a spa town, but its proximity to Bath meant that this was never to come about. Finally, with cheaper imports for wool, etc. the earlier prosperity waned and the village declined for a while. However, it did sit on a major route between Devizes and Trowbridge and thus on to Bath. As the village had a coaching stop this brought visitors from as far away as London to the area. The road, now known as the A361, is still a major road and much of the village lies stretched along it.
The village was to extend its transport links when the Kennet and Avon canal was built in the early eighteen hundreds. This encouraged the building of blast furnaces for the smelting of the local iron ore. Later the iron works was able to make use of the railway line that was built again just north of the village. Eventually, the extraction of the ore proved unprofitable and the iron works closed. All that remains now are earthworks to mark the location. The village returned to a more pastural economy and quieter times but the settlement still maintained good transport links. Perhaps this is what attracted the wealthy Bell family to the village in the late eighteen hundreds. Having made their fortune from their coal mines in Wales they purchased Cleeve House and made it their home. Thus setting the scene for Seend today a village with beauty and interesting landmarks that both inspire and provoke thoughts on the past, maybe muse on the esoteric or some other world that might exist alongside that known to our five senses.
In truth none of the above brought me to Seend that day. I was on the trail of two things; a stork and a pirate, or well perhaps a pirate and a stork. Either way I didn’t find either of them but the charm of the location did have an effect on me and I found myself investigating and imaging all sorts of story lines and aesthetics as we walked around the place.
Our first port of call was the wonderful church believe it or not in search of the pirate. Was it here in 1712 that a certain Timothy Tugmutton had signed the Easter Vestry? And if so, who was Timothy Tugmutton and when would he be heard from again? Well, it appears that it would be a whole century before the name came up again and this was in the novel “The Pirate” by Sir Walter Scott. It is said that the signature in the church had led Scott to using the name as an alias for one of the pirates. A somewhat trivial piece of information but strange in its own right. There was another strange aspect to the beautiful church and that is what appears to be the shadow of a crucifix above one of the arches. Perhaps it is the mark left by a wooden carving of Jesus on the cross or that of an earlier painting. Its provenance is unknown and could lead to those with a greater imagination thinking that there might be something magical about this appearance. It is probably the reason for the church being called Holy Cross.
Setting these musings aside we found the church to be absolutely beautiful with its wonderful flowers and views from the grave yard of Salisbury Plain beyond were lovely.
Leaving the church behind we discovered a milestone indicating the milage to London and bringing back the history of the village. Just near the milestone is Seend Manor, this was once the residence of the Awdry family. In 1712 a certain Ambrose Awdry lived at the residence and it is said that it was he who had written the name Tugmutton in the vestry notes. A joke that the Seymour family had told their friend Scott. But why did Ambrose Awdry come up with that name? Perhaps he possessed the ability to develop a story as his latter day relative Wilbert Vere Awdry did for his famous tank engine. Perhaps it was a visit to his relatives at Seend Manor from Seend station that inspired him to write?
Moving on from Seend Manor, we walked past many wonderful houses, some clad with beautiful wisteria and continued away from the village towards the canal. In doing so, we passed the wonderfully named Egypt Farm and again my imagination got the better of me. Perhaps relics from the pharaohs were housed within? An episode of Dr. Who came to mind where the owner of a rural house was possessed by an alien spirit that had been locked away in an Egyptian sarcophagus, but the farm was far, far too pretty for that, it needs a happier storyline.
Finally, we came to the canal at Sells Green and saw a notice by the Canal Trust on how they were making the canal wildlife friendly. I now had hopes of seeing the stork here. The walk along the canal was pleasant. I did spend a moment or two trying to attract the attention of a couple of likely fellows in a barge. They didn’t respond to me, I wonder what they could have been saying to each other? The canal walk was very enjoyable and from time to time we glimpsed views to the north of the Avon Vale as well as noticing the imaginative names of the barges. Again I mused about those two fellows on the barge.
As we walked, we encountered many wild flowers and ducks and geese but we didn’t see the stork.
Eventually, we left the canal and walked back into the village via the remains of the ironworks. These conjured up a tragic and lonely but beautiful landscape. Perhaps one that had inspired Clive Bell of Cleeve House in his ideas on significant form?
Continuing on the landscape mellowed to one of sweet meadows and buildings with towers and now one could imagine that the little people lived here, just as Sarah Hill, an author from the village has done in her children’s novels.
Finally arriving back in Seend again we marvelled at the many lovely cottages and manors before returning to the car. We hadn’t found a pirate or a stork but we had found a landscape full of stories and ideas many yet to be told.
I just can’t help wondering what those fellows on the barge were saying to each other…
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Beautiful photos, thank you so much for this visit. Given the beautiful wisteria, possibly you were in Seend in May?