Layer Marney's Heritage and Wildlife

We awoke to a (typically) grey Bank Holiday Monday, so decided to visit somewhere new, namely the Tudor tower at Layer Marney in Essex. We received a lovely welcome from members of the sheep community! I'm wondering if this is a Soay, or possibly a Soay-cross.



I cropped this photo as the bottom tier was simply a row of cars, but I feel the picture gives a reasonable first impression of the property, an incomplete Tudor palace built by Henry, Lord Marney, who held the influential post of Lord Privy Seal in the 1520s during the reign of Henry VIII. You begin to realise just how influential a man he was from the words on his tomb in the church,

'Henry, First Lord Marney, Sheriff of Essex, Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, Executore of the Countess of Richmond, Privy Councillor to Henry VIII, Captain of the King's Bodyguard, Fought Battle of Spurs 1513 Knight of the Garter, Lord Privy Seal: 1522, Baron Lord Marney: 1523, Died in London May 24, 1523, Buried here at Layer Marney.'

The grandiose tower overlooks the river Blackwater and Essex coast. It was a shame there was so little sunshine as the view would have been much enhanced.

The tower (with its 99 steps) was a most imposing edifice.




The photo above was taken from the rear of the building, while we were exploring the flower beds ...

There were a couple of beehives in the grounds ...

... and the orange flowers on this huge plant were proving popular with the inhabitants - and also, I note, with a small green-headed insect. I asked David to stand by the plant (two pictures up) to give a sense of scale.



The bees were also busily at work on what I think is Verbena Bonariensis ...



There were some beautiful roses to set off the Tudor architecture ...





We noticed the quotation from John's Gospel (chapter 7) on the farmyard drinking trough. It seemed slightly strange, though, given that the verse addresses humans, rather than animals. It probably served as an encouragement to the farm workers who would have passed this way in the course of their work. My musings on the subject of inscriptions on water troughs and the like sent me to Google, where I found some interesting information about The Metropolitan Drinking Fountain and Cattle Trough Association. 

We wandered round the pond, hoping there might be dragonflies since I have seen so few this year.



We failed to see any, but I noticed this emerald damselfly, which a kind iSpot enthusiast has confirmed as a Willow Emerald Damselfly (Lestes (Chalcolestes) viridis). It is a male; and from the coloration, apparently, it can only be L. viridis or L. barbarous. I am told that the pale pterostigma spots on the wings and the shape of the inferior rear appendages identify this as L. viridis. I am intrigued why one side of the thorax is gold and the other green.

If you walk down this long path from the tower, you can make your way towards the church, which is dedicated to St Mary ...

 

 ... passing the small Tudor-style knot garden en route.

When I was young, in the days before brass rubbing became a questionable activity on account of the damage rendered to the old brass figures, I would sometimes set off on my bike (having gained permission for the rubbing from the vicar or warden), with paper, masking tape, black heelball and gold, silver or bronze sticks of 'astral'. This is a bit of an aside, but you might enjoy a look at some of the past and present brasses of the month on the Monumental Brass Society's website. The figures in many of the brasses looked much like the effigies in the church here, right down (literally) to the guardian animal at the feet.

Look at those mournful eyes ... and we loved the way in which the hinge on the armour has been rendered. 

I thought you might like a couple of human faces, too, in the next couple of pictures ...

The upright creature above is a apparently a leopard.

What intrigued us about the face of Henry, 1st Lord Marney, in the photo above was the way in which the strands of hair had been made (just look at the honeycomb-like pattern where the hair ends): it reminded me, just a little, of trying to make millefiori beads out of coloured strips of Fimo!

There was some colourful stained glass, which was particularly cheering on a grey Bank Holiday afternoon. I like the use of the complementary colours - yellow and purple; red and green. I wonder why the top right flower head is white.

Most of the walls were white, but our eyes alighted on a wall painting of St Christopher.

It dates from pre-Reformation days, and was covered up for safety and only rediscovered in much later times. I did not pay much attention to it until I noticed the water around the figure's legs. It was full of characterful sea creatures ...



... such as this rather seal-like fish (or fish-like seal?). The figure had a sea serpent or eel around one of his ankles ...



 ... but what pleased me most was this little seahorse:



It was drawn so simply, and yet I felt it captured the very essence of these delicate creatures. I wonder whether this piece of sculpture on the roof of the tower building might also be a seahorse. What do you think?



We passed the roses on our way to find a welcome slice of malteaser cake and a pot of Earl Grey.

We took a last look around, noting the chimneys ...

... and the early signs of autumn. I like rosehips, but not in August!

Once again we had few butterflies to report. We saw one rather camouflaged Meadow Brown near the chickens ...

Our biggest surprise of the day was finding this Magpie moth tucked in a groove in the marble effigy in the church. This slender insect, which was either dead or asleep (probably dead, I fear), was ironically a 'lifer' for both of us, if this birding term can be applied to insects! I only wish the photo had come out better ...

Wildlife in the Ruins (or a grey Bank Holiday in the Thetford Area)

We had been waiting for some time for the 'right kind of day' on which to revisit the Thetford area. Bank Holiday Monday proved just such a day, with short sunny intervals, even shorter showers and a good deal of fair, if grey, weather.

Our first stop was the site of the Priory, founded 1103 or 4, and belonging to the Cluniac order of monks. The remains are in the care of English Heritage. We made our way to the magnificent Gate House, which dates from the 14th century, and were met by the three avian residents you can see in the photo above. I have been trying to ascertain whether the 'white pigeons' are simply that - white pigeons - or whether, perhaps, they are fantails. According to this thread on the RSPB site, they are descendants of the Rock Dove. Feral pigeons are descendants of what has long been known as the Rock Dove. Does this fact make these white pigeons 'feral' doves? I am not sure. But wait, there is an issue with the name 'Rock Dove': do take a look here in the pigeon and dove section of the IOC World Bird List site. 


Above: the pigeons in situ.

The magnificent flint-faced Gate House

 A close-up of the flint, and you can see where strands of ivy have been removed (or in this case, left). Thetford is not far from Grimes Graves, and is a good location for flint.

You can see that we were under rather a dark cloud at this point, but this photo gives a good impression of the extensive remains of the Priory.

You can read more about the Howard family here.

 

The photo above shows the Priory end of the site and the one below is from the spacious prior's lodging.

I went inside the walls of the prior's residence and noticed a corner of wildflowers growing out of the wall. I don't know whether this suggests that this corner is a damp one or whether, perhaps, it is a favourite haunt of wild birds who deposit seeds.

In any case, I was soon aware that there were two bright Blackbird eyes...

... staring down at me. The bird's bill was stuffed full of insects. I left him to his prize catch, not knowing whether male Blackbirds feed the female while she is nesting, though I never saw or heard a hint of another bird in this area. [After note: I have now been able to look up the habits of breeding Blackbirds, and it appears that while only the female sits on the nest, her mate will assist with food finding. Of course, I have no idea whether this particular bird was feeding himself or a family...].

* * *

By this time it was 1 o'clock, so we moved on to the next site - which was half a mile away, if that. The ruined Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Thetford is currently undergoing some restoration, as you can see from the photo below. The nave dates from the 12th century, and at some point after the nearby priory (see above) was dissolved in 1536, this particular church fell into use as a barn. I have only found three other UK churches with this dedication or foundation, including the Round Church in Cambridge.

According to the English heritage board, the rounded structure below is an added 19th century grotto, built as part of an ornamental garden feature. How unusual. You can read more about the church here on the Historic England site.

I looked about on the ground and noticed an empty snail shell. There was only one, so the adjacent flints may not have been in use as a regular anvil for a Song Thrush, but they would have served a useful purpose on this occasion at any rate. 

We were being watched from above, and it is possible that this bird had dropped the snail from a height. Song thrushes bang away at their 'anvils' on the ground whereas Carrion Crows and some other corvids prefer to drop a mollusc shell from a height.

It was time for a picnic lunch so we drove a few miles out of town on to the heath in the heart of the Brecks. The soil is sandy here and ideal for the families that were using the bike trails through the adjoining forest.

David and I found several caches of overwintering ladybirds, sadly all Harlequins. I shall add these to the UK Ladybird survey. But to end this section on a happier note, I am pleased to report that both my recent North Norfolk ladybird IDs have been assessed on iRecord and confirmed. One of the species was a (small) Kidney-spot and the other a (large) Eyed Ladybird - both UK species.

We moved on to Knettishall Heath after our picnic, a wildife area in the care of the Suffolk Wldlife Trust. This will be the focus of my next post, and it will include - you guessed - the sighting of another UK ladybird species. 

Over-wintering Harlequin Ladybirds (and in the two photos below)