The Elvetham Hotel - Domesday, Royalty and WW1

I don’t know about you, but I hadn’t really thought of hotels having a history. I’d always just taken them for what they were until that is, I encountered the Elvetham Hotel in Hartley Witney. It’s very local to me and yet it wasn’t until last year that I paid it a visit. I was surprised to learn that the location is steeped in history; a fact very proudly displayed and one visitor’s are informed about through a leaflet available at reception.  

As you approach this rather imposing building you can almost sense that this place has a rather colourful history. It dates right back to the 11^th century when Elvetham is first mentioned in the Domesday Book where it’s rent is recorded as 30 shillings a year, with enough woodland to support ten swine – or pigs to you and me! At this time the village would have continue to grow around the church and Manor House, the peasants living an agriculture lifestyle and fully dependent on the land. However in 1403, King Henry IV granted a license to make Elvetham a 300 acre enclosed park, forcing the peasants to relocate beyond the perimeter.

It is the next phase in the history of Elvetham that I found most interesting though, for in 1426 Elvetham Hall became the residence of the Seymour family – Jane Seymour of course, being one of Henry VIII’s 6 wives. During this period the Hall began to host the upper echelons of society, including at one time King Henry VIII himself who was entertained by Jane’s brother, Edward Seymour, at various points in 1535 and it’s during the course of these visits that it is believed Jane first met Henry, paving the way for their future marriage.

The links to royalty don’t stop here however, for Edward’s son also called Edward, Earl of Hertford, inherited the property. Edward was to go on to marry Catherine Grey, the younger sister of Lady Jane Grey, must to the distain of Queen Elizabeth I, who when she heard of their marriage, sent both to the Tower of London in an act of fury. Both were eventually released, although not together, and returned to Elvetham, Catherine dying shortly after her release in 1567.

In 1591, in order to regain the favour of the Queen and to have his children legitimised, Edward Seymour invited Queen Elizabeth and her entourage of 500 to Elvetham and laid on lavish entertainments that lasted four days. This included the erection of large pavilions to accommodate the court and also the re-landscaping of the grounds to include a huge crescent shaped lake, around which the entertainment was centred. But even more impressive, guests to the hotel are also informed of how William Shakespeare was ‘commissioned to write poems known as the Elvetham Entertainments’ and how ‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream is thought to have had its first performance here’. I mean, what a connection?! To think that this quaint little hotel just up the road has hosted royalty and possibly Shakespeare – that’s a pretty cool fact don’t you think?

Furthermore, a reminder of this fantastic event still exists thanks to Queen Elizabeth I, who planted an oak tree to commemorate her visit. Amazingly the tree still stands and is now more than 32 feet in circumference!

Unfortunately the original hall burnt down in 1840 but it was quickly replaced by Frederick, 4^th Baron Calthorpe, who bought the land and commissioned architect Samuel Sander Teulon to rebuild on the site. Teulon was heavily influenced by ecclesiastical architectural accounting for the religious feel to the property modern guests will experience, especially that evoked by the stained glass windows and ornate fire places.

There is also a church on the site, St Mary’s, which the leaflets informs us was built in 1840. This surprised me when I read it for I would have dated it much earlier, a fact I think would please the original architect for he apparently designed it to look like a 12^th century Norman church – he had me fooled! However, I did a bit of further research and there seems to be conflicting information, other sources dating it to the 13^th century – odd! In fact the majority of other sources date the church much earlier and place it as the original village church of Hartley Witney; hence it is the location of the village War memorial, which was restored in 2012. The church has since been deconsecrated and has fallen into ruin somewhat and at the time I couldn’t understand why the memorial would have been placed here. However, it makes sense if the church is in fact associated with the earlier history of the village. How odd though to have the date of a church conflicting?

I think this is just another element that makes the Hotel an interesting place to visit as a source of local history. I called my blog ispyhistory because history is all around us and we can find it in the most unlikely places and this was one of those times that I really didn’t expect to find such an interesting historical tale just a few miles up the road.

"Entirely Unforgettable". Auschwitz 2007: The Lasting Impact

To finish off this series of blogs which have focused on Holocaust Memorial Day and the Liberation of Auschwitz, I want to return to some of the questions I raised in the first blog, when comparing two articles which attempted to address the question of who should visit the camps and if it should be made a compulsory trip in schools. I very clearly asserted my belief that it was a hugely valuable experience for me, both in terms of understanding the history of that period but also in terms of personal growth and development. However it got me thinking and there was one question I kept coming back too- was this a view shared by others who made that same trip to Poland?

Not knowing, I set out to investigate.

Unfortunately the passage of time has severed many of the links I had with those who also visited Poland in 2007. However, through social media I managed to contact some 25 of those 40 class mates who originally attended, explaining why I’d got in touch and asking them if they could spare a few minutes to consider the following four questions:

1.       Should “everyone” go?

2.       Did it aid your understanding of the Holocaust?

3.       Has it shaped your world perspective today?

4.       Do you think the camps that still exist should be destroyed? Or are they important as memorials?

I wasn’t sure what reception this message would get but I am pleased to say that 5 of those contacted did reply, with insightful and well considered responses. I appreciate it is not an easy thing to be asked to remember and  I’m sure there are some haven’t given it a second thought, while for others it will have replayed numerous times. Then of course, being asked to share those thoughts is perhaps a bit exposing, while others might not have wanted too. However, in a sense the ‘why’s’ do not really matter, what does, is the commonalities that appeared in those 5 responses I did receive.

1.       Should “everyone” go?

This first question divided the responders. Generally there was a feeling that if circumstances allowed, people should visit and be exposed to those educational messages. For example:

CL - ‘I definitely agree that everyone should go. When you read about such historical horrors, it can be easy to be overwhelmed by the facts and figures that seem entirely unfathomable and thus forget…. But the feelings you experience when you visit…. Entirely unforgettable’.

However an air of caution was also expressed:

 ZC - ‘I think the trip is very stressful so perhaps not everyone - I still get upset thinking about it now, especially the block they used to torture… ‘.

This response draws parallels with the view of fellow public historian Emma, who was inspired by my first blog to recall her experiences to Auschwitz in 2003 (1). I was struck by her comment about the lack preparation she was exposed too in advance of her school trip, for the arrangements around ours were very different.

Firstly, to be eligible for the trip you had to be studying either history or religious education which would provide you with the necessary background and context for the trip you were about to make. Furthermore, lunchtime sessions were also held in the weeks before where all were gathered to watch Schindler’s List. I think there was also discussion beforehand of what you might expect and how you might react. The staff had really considered what was necessary to prepare a 14/15 year olds for this trip so that it was a beneficial experience and one not purely wrought with emotion. It was a trip they’d run for years before taking us, so they had it pretty honed down by the time our turn came around – but perhaps that was a lesson learnt by experience? Either way the trip to Auschwitz-Birkenau and to the site of Plaszow was grounded in prior knowledge.

A mixed response then to this first question, but one that largely resonates with my own.

2.       Did it aid your understanding of the Holocaust?

This question sparked a more general consensus and that was yes, all responders walked away possessing greater understanding of what they’d been taught – the realisation of the magnitude of it being a particular point all recalled vividly:

SD – ‘it gave me a more realistic understanding, history lessons are on paper and this was startlingly real’.

MC – ‘[It] not only gave me a greater understanding of what happened, it made me aware how many people suffered and lost their lives. From walking around the camp and seeing the suitcases labelled with their return addresses and hair still tied in hairbands, it makes you realise how evil mankind can really be’.

ZC – ‘It definitely aided my understanding and added context to what I had already learnt. It made what I had read and watched “real”, rather than just another lesson in the classroom. It also brings to life the scale of what happened, which despite being told the number, I had never fully realised before visiting’.

Pictures cannot compare to seeing the real thing with your own eyes. It’s this whole argument about the response a ‘sense of place’ evokes – you’re not removed from it, you’re immersed in it and that feeling is not one easily forgotten. It leaves a lasting impression, as MC clearly shows in her recollection of the suitcases and human hair. You could all too easily skim over that when reading a text book, but when you’re confronted with a glass case full of false legs and spectacles and stats that say 1 in 4 men wore glasses – the magnitude of it hits you.

In her blog Emma is sceptical of the potential to learn from such a place and criticises the idea of ‘understanding’ - believing it can only be definitive – complete, job done. I disagree, there are something’s beyond full comprehension, this being one of them, but you can achieve a level of understanding and that is what all responders and myself walked away possessing a greater level of after our visit.

3.       Has it shaped your world perspective today?

This is perhaps the question I was most interested in hearing the responses too, for I was interested to see how the lessons learned by studying the Holocaust and visiting some of the places in which it happened had shaped the world view of the others, if of course at all, and how they may have carried that forward into their current lives.

The first responder’s recollections tie in with one of the lasting impressions I have of the trip in terms of the impact it had on us as a group. Like many school year groups, as a cohort we were divided by ‘factions’ and clashes of personalities did lead to bullying and people reaching judgements about others based on very little more than assumption. But as NM recalls:

‘when at Auschwitz, I don’t know about you, but I felt it bought everyone together. We all had the same feelings that what had happened was just awful…. For me it has taught me not to judge people, everyone is different… we all have our own beliefs and that doesn’t make one person more superior than another…’

And I couldn’t agree more for that is something I also took away, but was somewhat surprised it wasn’t remembered by more people than just us two. I remember us leaving for Poland divided into those factions yet coming back a more united unit which carried on for the rest of the year. I spoke to people on that trip that I’d never spoken too before and even cried with them; our vulnerability forced us to depend on each other in that moment and when we came back we continued to have conservations and exchange civilities. There is a lot to be learnt at Auschwitz alongside the history – lessons in citizenship and humanity are also taught, important steps in preventing such an atrocity occurring again.

A further point was raised by the responders in relation to this questions and that was the impact it has had on their world perspective and heightened engagement with politics and world issues:

ZC – ‘Yes, since the first day there it changed my perspective. I am far less naïve, I certainly think more carefully before I open my mouth, judge a race/religion, it drove me to become more politically aware so I can make informed decisions when voting, considering the Nazis were VOTED into power’.

SD – ‘I think my world perspective growing up was shaped by many things and is continuing to be shaped, but I do often think about this trip and how easy it is to be a bystander on world issues and how important it is to stand against inhumanity’.

4.       Do you think the camps that still exist should be destroyed? Or are they important as memorials?

The final question sparked consensus again:

NM – ‘There is so much history at places like Auschwitz and these need to be kept for generations in the future to see and to gain understanding of what happened’

SD – ‘how they have been left abandoned is important to see the realism of something so unimaginable’

MC – ‘So many innocent people lost their lives; it is there graveyard and should never be forgotten.’

ZC – ‘I think by running trips like the one that I went on, it might change the perspective of those children and who knows what a difference that handful of enlightened minds could do?’

The importance of places like Auschwitz came through in all those responses, both in terms of the educational value but also in the role they play as places of remembrance, memorialisation and of warning.  

Five responses out of forty is a small percentage and on some level I wish I’d had more data on which to base some of these conclusions. I am sure there is more that could have been said and different points that could have been raised, but what I am reassured by is that at least those 5 people took something away from that trip, just as I did and that it did have a lasting impact on those few.

Would I therefore stick by my original conclusion that school children should be encouraged to make a similar trip to ours? Yes I would, even though I wavered when watching Night will Fall. I think there is great need for exposure to such things, the lasting impact far outweighing the initial shock that comes with realising the magnitude of the Holocaust.

(1)    https://yorehistory.wordpress.com/2015/01/19/return-or-single-ticket-the-future-of-auswitz/

(2)    http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-30996555