Archeology in the Back Yard
A long time ago, in a High School not so far away, I was fortunate enough to study Archeology at A level. Ardingly was one of only three (or something) schools in the country that offered the option, and I absolutely snapped it up. I did my dissertation (not what it was called at the time, but you get the idea) on the Neolithic dolmens and passage graves of Guernsey, which I still have somewhere (the dissertation not the stonework).
So, much surprise and delight when I discovered a genuine piece of local archaeology at the bottom of the area where I live.
These properties, three blocks of four maisonettes, are built on the site of the old Glenwood Manor, and this story begins with a friend giving me one of the very best birthday gifts I’ve ever received: a Paleolithic handaxe, excavated from this area when that manor was still here.
This led me to a local Farcebook group, to the knowledge that the wall of said manor is still visible, and that a piece of it remains, sitting behind the garages at the back.
The full article is here.
There’s not much left to see, and it’s very overgrown, but there’s something utterly magical about trying to picture the manor in my head, to imagine the area at the time, what that kitchen garden may have looked like and the people that lived here, generations of them.
Carshalton Village is laden with local history, and has multiple listed buildings. Its story is fascinating, centered round the industry that grew up along River Wandle, with mills for paper and parchment, leather, snuff and log-wood. The manor was finally pulled down in the early 1900s, but knowing that a tiny piece of it remains is a really lovely thing.
Reading: Continuing with my Spellsinger read, and thoroughly enjoying its magical gateway, taking me back to the creative innocence of my twenties. I’m off work this week, so permitting myself the indulgence of a comfort-book (or series), and will read something sensible when I’m back in the shop.
Watching: Continuing with FarScape, and still think it’s one of the very best of the bunch. Every time the Socials cough up one of those ‘your fave starship’ questions, the answer is almost always ‘Moya’ (often followed by the Shadows from Bab 5).
Playing: Have just bought myself my very first set of MTG cards, the Assassin’s Creed ones (love their Greek and Viking art and theme) and oh dear, I fear this is a slippery, slippery slope…