You must be wondering of I have a home to go to because, although I am safely home now, I’ve been away again, this time with a family history slant.

We set off through slowish traffic to take the caravan to Ferry Meadows site on the edge of Nene Valley Country Park, somewhere we’ve been several times before. Fortuitously, this was the day the fish and chip van visited the site. It would have been rude not to partake.

With our Devon Family History Society hats on, we personned a stand at the East Anglian Really Useful Family History Show. It seemed quite busy and it was good to chat to so many people that we knew. We collected items for the October conference goody bags and realised that this meant we would now have to drive round with a car full of heavy books for more than a week. There were some fears for the suspension.

The next day was meant to be a restful day, so I looked for something nearby to do, ideally something we hadn’t done before. I happened upon Longthorpe Tower. As it really was just over there. I was surprised we hadn’t been before, perhaps because it is only open at weekends. We booked a 12 o’clock tour. It says you have to pre-book but some people did turn up on spec. There is however a maximum capacity of twelve, so you’d risk being disappointed. As it looked so close, just the other side of the adjacent country park, we set out to walk. We called in at the park’s

visitors’ centre on the way to enquire about a route, which according to Google maps was a walkable 1.7 miles. The person we asked said that it was an unspecified ‘long way’ and advised us to take the car. To be fair there was open water and a motorway to negotiate but it did look as if there was a path and bridge. Maybe his advice was based on our decrepit looking appearance.

We returned for the car 3.7 miles by road, spotting a pair of red kites on the way. Of course this meant we were nearly an hour early. This didn’t seem to matter as the 11am tour was just starting, so we joined that. The tour was built in 1290 by lawyer Robert Thorpe as an extension to his adjacent fortified manor house, to showcase his wealth and status. Robert and his son, also Robert, were both stewards of Peterborough Abbey and it is thought that one or other of them commissioned the monks who were painting the abbey walls to also work on the tower. The Thorpes were to serve both Edward II and Edward III, Robert junior becoming Lord Chamberlain. The manor house is in private hands but the top two stories of the three that make up the tower itself are in the care of English Heritage. The solar, the lower of the two floors that can be viewed, boasts Medieval wall and ceiling paintings that are the best to survive, in a domestic setting, in the whole of Europe. Fashion and the style of the royal arms that are depicted, date the paintings to between 1320 and 1340. The fleurs de lys that Edward III added to the royal arms in 1340, when he was laying claim to France, are not shown.

Although Robert had two sons, the family line died out with his grandchildren, so the estate passed to a distant relative whose main residence was elsewhere and it gradually fell into disrepair. The paintings were whitewashed over, probably during the Reformation. It was used by the Home Guard during the war and it was only when an attempt was made to clean up the tower after they left, using labour from the nearby Italian prisoner of war camp, that the paintings were rediscovered. Clive Rouse was called in to preserve the paintings. He made paintings, rather than taking photographs, of what could then be seen, which was more than has survived the intervening seven decades. Unfortunately, he used beeswax to preserve the paintings, which was then then approved method but in the damp tower this did more harm than good and it had to be removed. Preservation is now in the hands of the Courtauld Institute but the decision has been taken to just attempt to halt further deterioration in a sustainable way and not to restore.

The paintings depict a variety of scenes. Two large figures are thought to be Aristotle and Alexander the Great, above them are depictions of farming tasks across the twelve months of the year. On another wall are the eleven apostles (minus Judas), a nativity scene and the seven ages of man. Opposite Aristotle is one of only three surviving depictions of the wheel of the five senses, the other two being in Italy and Germany. On the final wall is a king and a number of animals and birds, as well as a painted geometrical tapestry. The animals include the mythical Bonnacon, who attacks it’s enemies by expelling flame throwing poo.

The top floor was accessed by my favourite thing (not) a spiral staircase. Wondering if ascending was going to be one of those ‘seemed like a good idea at the time’ things, I cautiously began to  climb. There was a rope handrail, which meant that, as the person behind you pulled on the rail, the rope tightened and your hand was trapped between the rope on the stone wall. Nonetheless, apart from a few grazed knuckles, I made it up and down and was able to observe the fourteenth century toilet seat. The top floor was probably a bedroom; the Thorpes must have been jolly nimble to trip up and down those stairs every day.

In order to access the top two floors of the tower, whilst still allowing the ground floor to be used by the manor house, what was a window has been turned in to a door, accessed by outside steps.

After a pause for lunch we strolled round the lake at Nene Valley Country Park.

A tedious journey south to a new caravan site at Rookesbury Park near Fareham. Although we’ve definitely stayed here before, neither of us have any recollection of the site. Mind you, our most recent visit was probably twenty years ago. This should have been a three hour drive but road works and heavy traffic meant that it took nearly four. We discovered that the bungee cord that stops the caravan electric cable dragging on the ground when we travel, had come undone. This means we now have bald looking cable and are in need of insulating tape.

As part of my 70^th birthday commemorations I am attempt to catch up with as many people on my Christmas card list as possible. I am then taking photos and plan to make it in to an album. I thought this may take more than a year, so I started last year and I suspect I will continue into next year before I get as many as I think I am likely to. As I travel about for other reasons, I am therefore checking the address book and seeing who is within striking distance.

Today was an opportunity for one such catch up and we had a lovely lunch in Chandlers Ford. Feeling very full, we retired to the van, via purchasing the required insulating cable. Having been directed along the M27 on our outward journey, it was very pleasant to find that the satnav decided to avoid the motorway take us through several pretty Hampshire villages, of which Wickham was one, on the way home.

We decided to exploit the English Heritage Life Membership again and take a look at Porchester Castle. On the way, we passed Fort Nelson and paused to photograph THE Nelson’s column. This is ninety-two foot ten and a half inches high and  was built in 1807-8, paid for by those who were involved in the battle of Trafalgar donating two day’s pay, as well as naval prize money. What can been seen now is largely an 1899 rebuild; with only the bust at the top being original.

In glorious sunshine but a biting wind, we moved on to Porchester Castle. We had pay to park, although I feel we might have avoided this if we’d approached from a different direction. The situation is strategically important, both for protection from a possible invasion and to use as a gathering point prior to attempting to invade France. I struggled with a barely audible audio guide and tried to avoid a somewhat garrulous volunteer who clearly wanted to chat.

The earliest fortification on the site was probably Roman and was erected in the third century to counteract the threat of a Saxon raiders. By the early tenth century, the threat was from the Vikings and the fort was given to the then king, Edward the elder, by the Bishop of Winchester. Portchester became a burh, a fortified settlement. As well as a wooden building, a stone tower was built.

After the Norman Conquest, Portchester was given to one of William’s followers, William Maudit, later passing to another Norman knight, William Pont de l’Arche who founded an Augustinian Priory that was housed within the fort in 1128. This later moved to nearby Southwick. In 1101, Robert Curthose, Duke of Normandy invaded at Portsmouth, intending to take England from his brother Henry I. Henry managed to persuade Robert to retreat and later Henry invaded Normandy and imprisoned Robert, blinding him first, nice lot the Normans.

The castle was rebuilt in stone in the early twelfth century, including the first of three stages of the keep. By 1154, Portchester was in royal hands and Henry II and later monarchs used it when they were on their way to France. In the 1390s, Richard II built an small palace next to the keep. It’s position overlooking the channel and the important harbour at Portsmouth, meant that Porchester was better maintained than some castles. It was Charles I who sold the castle to the Uvedale family, whose descendants still own it.

At various times in its history, Porchester has been used to house prisoners of war. In the 1660s, when England was fighting the Dutch, the government rented it to house Dutch prisoners. In the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, French prisoners were held at Porchester, most notably during the Napoleonic Wars, when the prisoners had a theatre in one of the chambers. In 1819, the owners, by then called Thistlethwayte, took back the Castle, created a pleasure garden and used it to entertain guests. Unfortunately, the steps to the upper floors of the keep are not in use at the moment, so we couldn’t explore that part.

On returning to the van, I sampled a double gold caramel magnum. I may be forced to sample this delight again, just to check that it really was as delicious as I thought the first time.

Another day, another place to visit, this time via a caravan spares shop to get a vital part for the van that seems reluctant to provide us with water from the taps. Today’s tourist attraction of choice was the National Trust’s house and garden at Hinton Ampner. There was a Tudor manor house on this site, owned by the Stewekely family. In 1793, the Bilson-Legge’s demolished and rebuilt the house. This was inherited by a daughter who married into  the Dutton family. Ralph Dutton inherited in 1935 and was responsible for remodelling the house in keeping with a Georgian revivalist style. A fire that started in the library in 1960, meant that much of the remodelling had to be done twice and 2000 books had to be replaced. I always wonder, in libraries like these, how many of the books actually got read.

The house is home to one of the largest collections of hardstone inlaid furniture in the National Trust. As usual, I looked for quirky pieces that caught my eye, including a stunning Blue John vase and rather strange origami-like constructions that were used instead of holly or pine cones to deter visitors for sitting on the chairs. Pupils from Portsmouth High school were evacuated to Hinton Ampner House in the Second World War. Lacking any children, nieces or nephews, Ralph Dutton donated the estate to the National Trust. My only niggle about the property was that those requiring disabled access to the house were invited to ring the doorbell for assistance, yet said bell was up the entrance steps, which rather defeated the object.

It was a beautifully sunny spring day for exploring the gardens, with slightly less wind than at Porchester. There were far-reaching views across the South Downs and I was excited to spot but not very successfully photograph, a red kite. The Saxon, flint church in the grounds was also interesting and had some impressive 1970s stained glass.

Despite having sampled some National Trust cake, in holiday mode, I decided that I had to try another caramel magnum. I am wondering if I really need more before coming to a decision.

Hinton Ampner