“That’s the
Medieval Village of West Ringstead,” said the man as I passed. He was standing
in the long grass beside the footpath staring out across a field, wild white
hair and sun bronzed skin. “It was destroyed by the plague in the 14th
Century.”
My husband gave
him and odd look and hurried on past, but I paused and looked in the direction
that he was pointing. The field was a wide grassy meadow and over on the far
side I could see a series of humps and bumps. I’d never noticed them before.
“If you stand on
them you can see the layout of the village, the streets, the houses,” the man
continued. “But there’s a fence here now.” He prodded the barbed wire with the
tip of one finger.
There was
something forlorn about those grassy mounds, and I couldn’t help wondering
about the people who lived there, and how they must have felt as the plague
took hold.When I got home I tried to find out a bit more about this village. I found it is mentioned in the Doomsday Book. I also found another explanation for what happened to it – a rumor that the village was destroyed by French pirates, who kidnapped all the women and children and took them away. J
Which explanation do you prefer?
Were there French pirates marauding across southern England? I find that strangely appealing in a Monty Python kind of way ...
ReplyDeleteFrench pirates? I didn't even know there were any French pirates.
ReplyDeleteBeing kidnapped by pirates is probably preferable to dying in a frothy mess of exploding plague pustules so I think I'll go for the Capitain Jacques Piaf option.
And so sad that you were fenced out ... something to really get the imagination going.
ReplyDeleteSimon, you're so right - there is something Monty Pythonesque about the idea of marauding French pirates - but as Crowe says - better than plague!
ReplyDeleteSue - when has a little fence stopped anyone? ;-)