To a nature lover it probably is paradise

Above: Pub sign I saw in a market town in the Danelaw area - Sweyn Forkbeard was a Danish king of England, and is prominently mentioned in the Peterborough Chronicle (among other sources). He took the throne off the Saxon king Ethelred the Unready (or “ditherer” in modern political parlance). Sweyn Forkbeard was married to Sigrid the Haughty and his son was King Canute (who commanded the waves to go back).

Streaming sunshine, warm air, a balmy and intoxicating quality to the atmosphere (treacherously implying that winter was over and spring had arrived). It was so nice I thought I would go over to the coast. Thirty minutes drive took me to a village I had long wanted to explore.

This village probably has more traces of Danish settlement than almost anywhere else in England. The field names, the customs, the local dialect (lots of farm names ending in “-by”) all point to a Danish connection. This connection, however, is often tenuous and difficult to prove.

Although the Vikings occupied half of England in the 9th century, this was far from being a foreign conquest. The Angles in particular had a culture that was very similar to the Danes (and obviously the Angles originally came from Angeln which is the “angle” where the Jutland peninsula joins the north European coast). The ethnic and cultural difference between the Danes and the Anglo-Saxons has been likened to British migrants going to Australia in 1808 and later British migrants going in 2008 - the cultural differences are not all that profound.



The local church was dedicated to St Edith, an Anglo-Saxon queen. Originally there was a simple preaching cross, with the church being constructed later. Earthworks to the south of the crossroads are all that remain of the original settlement (ridge and furrow markings in the fields - undulations that looked like frozen waves).

Until the 1920s the village held an annual Hiring Fair on 16th May when labourers and servants could change their situation (and also have a short holiday when they could visit their family homes).

Among other denominations, The Primitive and Free Methodists have kept their original (unmerged) identity.



The church featured this gargoyle of a black hound said to haunt the area. Legends of a phantom hound can be found throughout England - particularly in Norfolk where the apparition is known as Old Shuck. Possibly the custom can be traced back to the veneration of champion hunting dogs (Sir James Frazer mentions the ancient practice of “crowning” powerful hunting dogs).

Sir Arthur Conan-Doyle used the legend as the basis of his Sherlock Holmes story The Hound of the Baskervilles (I never tire of watching the 1959 film).



This view of the church really sums up the village - everything neatly clipped and kept tidy. The Lych gate was constructed as a memorial to the village fallen of the First World War. I have noticed the prevalence of Great War memorials taking the form of Lych Gates - probably a study needs to be made of this (obviously the architectural form satisfied some deep psychological need among the mourners).



On the road out of the village I stopped for a whisky (only one) at the Prussian Queen (commemorates the marriage of Queen Victoria’s daughter to the future German emperor). The marsh adjoining the pub is known irreverently as the Prussian Queen’s Bog. As well as being a public house, there is also a shop attached to the premises.



Finally I came to the first of the sea walls (actually quite low banks). This intriguing sign announces the way to Paradise (but not for caravan owners). The sun was setting and it was getting cold (I hadn’t brought a coat) but the prospect of penetrating the heavenly veil and gaining entry to the Elysian fields was too inviting to pass up.



Over the last low sea bank and finally I saw “Paradise” - a vast expanse of tidal marsh. A site of special scientific interest (I read later) it is the home of wild orchids, natterjack toads and fourteen species of dragonflies and damselflies. To a nature lover it probably is paradise.

More on Sweyn Forkbeard: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sweyn_I_of_Denmark

More on Old Shuck: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/2345803.stm

More on The Hound of the Baskervilles: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Hound_of_the_Baskervilles

More on the Prussian Queen: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Victoria,_Princess_Royal

The Queen of Prussia’s standard: http://www.crwflags.com/FOTW/images/d/de-pr^q2.gif

More on lych gates: http://www.villagenet.co.uk/reference/lychgate.html