Willington Local History Group
Summer
Trips
After a successful season of talks, the History Group embarked on our
summer outings...
St Andrews Church in Kimbolton
Our first visit in May was to St Andrews Church in
Kimbolton.
Despite the inclement weather, we were warmly greeted by the
Churchwarden and his wife (who is the Kimbolton
History Group all by herself).
They gave us a tour of the Church pointing out the many and varied monuments and inscriptions, dedicated to the
earls, countesses and duchesses of Manchester.
However, the icing on the cake was the stained-glass window in the south
chapel by American glass artist Louis Comfort Tiffany, son of the founder of
Tiffany’s Jewellers in New York. The
window depicts the twin daughters of Consuelo Yznaga,
an American of Cuban descent and widow of the 8th Duke of Manchester. Because of the weather, we were unlucky not
to be able to see the window in its full glory.
After the tour, we
were treated to tea and homemade cake – well worth braving the elements for!
The Panacea Museum
Our second visit in June was a complete
contrast. We went to the Panacea Museum
in Bedford. This museum tells the story
of the Panacea Society – a Christian group formed in the early twentieth
century who created their own 'Garden of Eden' in the centre of Bedford. The
Panacea Society was made up mostly of women and its leader was Mabel Barltrop – the widow of an English clergyman, and mother of
four children– whose followers called her ‘Octavia’. When she died, Joanna Southcott took over as
leader. She was hailed as the Messiah
and she sealed a selection of her
prophecies in a box and declared that it should only be opened in a time of
national danger, by 24 bishops of the Church of England. Since her death, this box has been kept safe,
ready for when the bishops request it.
Our tour of the
Museum included being shown ‘Panacea Healing’, for which the Society became
renowned and interest spread all over the globe. This healing consisted of tiny little squares
of cotton which the leader had breathed on and which,
apparently would cure all ills; over 120,000 people have applied to the Panacea
Society for healing since it began.
The Museum is a
fascinating place is still kept in its original condition and a visit is
certainly to be recommended.
Boughton House
For our third and
last trip, in July, we went to Boughton House near Kettering. The House is
the English home of the Duke of Buccleuch and
Queensberry and is a mixture of a family home and a grand estate. Its mixture of intimate courtyards and
palatial 18th century additions have earned it the title of ‘The English
Versailles’ which inspired Universal Films to use Boughton in the latest film
adaptation of Les Misérables.
Despite arriving late – in
fact, we were the only visitors that day – we were treated to excellent
customer service. We were given a
fascinating tour of the stunning rooms filled
with beautiful artworks, including several Old Masters, Sèvres
Porcelain and Boulle furniture. The house has
changed a great deal over the centuries and there is one wing which is still
unfinished. A door in one of the upper
rooms is always kept locked and on visiting the unfinished part, we could see
why. It’s a long drop to the stone floor
beneath!
After three successful Summer
visits, our next meeting is back to normal.
On Tuesday 17th September, Rob Bollington will be
interviewing Gordon Vowles on his long and varied life. It’s Gordon’s 93rd Birthday, so we
hope you’ll come along to the Methodist Chapel at 7.30pm to help us celebrate.
Sue
Harland