LITERARY PUBS: THE STUBBING WHARF, HEBDEN BRIDGE

 

The poet Ted Hughes was born in Mytholmroyd in Calderdale (last seen in my post about Happy Valley), and he married the American poet Sylvia Plath.  In Hughes’ collection ‘Birthday Letters’ he recalls the day he and Sylvia sat in the bar of The Stubbing Wharf by the Rochdale Canal on the outskirts of the nearby Hebden Bridge.  They were arguing about where they would live, and Hughes paints a gloomy picture of the pub, describing “the gummy dark bar”, and its rainsodden surrounding with “the fallen-in grave of its history”, “a gorge of ruined mills and abandanoned chapels” and “the fouled nest of the Industrial Revolution that had flown”.  They ended up living in London.

Stubbing Wharf (3617762016). Photo by Tim Green, via Wikimedia Commons.

 

The Stubbing Wharf, established as a pub in 1810, is still going strong today, offering real ales and good pub food in an appealing canaside environment, just a short walk along the canal towpath from Hebden Bridge.  A short distance from the pub towards Hebden Bridge there are boat trips available on traditional canal barges.

Map of the area.

A MAJOR POET CELEBRATES A MINOR RIVER: RIVER DUDDON, CUMBRIA/WORDSWORTH

When a river forms the subject of a work of poetry, more often than not it is a major river.  The Thames, the Wye and other famous British rivers have been the subject of famous poems over the years.  So it is slightly puzzling that Wordsworth chose the obscure River Duddon as the subject of a series of sonnets.  It appears he may have found encouragement in a letter written by Robert Burns to a fellow poet, which Wordsworth read and quoted from frequently.  In the letter Burns asserted that the likes of the Thames, Seine et al had already been done to death in poetry, so better to seek inspiration “adown some trottin burn’s meander”. 

Be that as it may, an obvious reason for choosing the River Duddon is that it is close to where Wordsworth was living, in his beloved Lake District.  The birth of the river is described thus: “Child of the clouds ! remote from every taint//Of sordid industry thy lot is cast”.  The verse goes on for page after page, with sections headed ‘Flowers’, ‘The Stepping-Stones’, ‘The Fairy Chasm’, right up to the ‘Conclusion’ numbered XXXIII.  In short, no-one can accuse Wordsworth of short-changing the River Duddon.

Stepping Stone near Crosby Bridge, River Duddon - geograph.org.uk - 2452540. Photo by Tom Richardson, via Wikimedia Commons.

The River Duddon flows through the south-western part of the Lake District, passing the villages of Seathwaite and Duddon Bridge before widening out to an estuary, joining the sea between Haverigg and Barrow-in-Furness.

Map of the area.

STATELY STRIFE AND FAMILY LIFE: CASTLE HOWARD/BRIDESHEAD REVISITED

In September 2021 I blogged about Madresfield Court in Worcestershire, widely believed to be the inspiration for Evelyn Waugh’s Brideshead of Brideshead Revisited, a tale about the ups and downs of the ongoing friendship between two young men who met at University, Sebastian Flyte and Charles Ryder, Sebastian being the son of Lord and Lady Marchmain of Brideshead.  I recently began viewing the TV series based on the book for the first time. Starring Jeremy Irons and Anthony Andrews as Charles and Sebastian respectively, the series was first shown in 1981.  Apart from the many human stars of the series, the locational star of the show is Castle Howard, a stately home in North Yorkshire, which serves as a suitably imposing setting for the Marchmain family home which forms the focal point of the series.

Castle Howard and garden. Photo by Pwojdacz, via Wikimedia Commons.

In fact, Castle Howard has been used twice as Brideshead, taking on the role again in 2008 for a film version of the story.  In the TV version the Long Gallery is used to depict the drawing room where Sebastian’s friend Charles is entertained by the Flyte family.  The Great Hall, Grand Staircase and other sumptuous interiors also make an appearance.  Sebastian and Charles are seen indulging in some wine tasting in the Temple of the Four Winds.  They are also seen keeping cool in the summer heat by the Atlas Fountain.

Castle Howard The Great Hall Entrance. Photo by Mdbeckwith, via Wikimedia Commons.

In 1940 Castle Howard suffered a fire which destroyed the Garden Hall and the High Saloon.  The Granada TV production company transformed the Garden Hall into the room where Charles painted his landscapes.  Meanwhile, the High Saloon was used as the dining room and also the bedroom where Lord Marchmain passed away.

Castle Howard lies a short distance to the west of Malton, a market town to the north-east of York, and just to the west of the Howardian Hills.  The house opens daily until early November, and the gardens are open daily with the exception of Christmas Day.  Guided tours are available on selected dates between March and October.  There are a number of refreshments and shopping outlets within the estate.  The extensive grounds include lakes, follies, woodlands, statues and temples.  Boat trips are available around the North Lake. Twice a week during July and August there is a coach service from the centre of York; ticket prices include admission to the house and gardens.

Map of the area.

MINCING WORDS: THE KING'S SPEECH

The King’s Speech is an unusual film about a late member of the Royal Family, in that it focuses on one particular aspect of the monarch’s persona.  King George VI, aka Bertie, (played by Colin Firth, who won the Oscar for Best Actor), father of the late Queen Elizabeth II, suffered from a stammer, which being the King was a problem with all the speeches he was expected to make.  An Australian speech therapist called Lionel Logue (Geoffrey Rush) was engaged to help the King overcome this affliction, and this is the central theme of the film. Here are some of the locations used in three key scenes of the film.

The opening scene depicts the occasion of the closing ceremony of the Empire Exhibition at Wembley Stadium, which took place in 1925.  Bertie, still a Duke at this point, gives a speech which proves excruciating as he stammers his way through it, with his wife Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon (aka The Queen Mother, played by Helena Bonham Carter) looking on in distress for her husband.  I came across a lost recording of the actual 1925 speech, which, though not great, did not sound nearly as bad as Colin Firth’s version.  Anyhow, as to the location of the scene, it was filmed at Elland Road Stadium in Leeds, home of Leeds United football team, with some shots filmed at the Odsal Stadium, home of the Bradford Bulls rugby team.  The people of Leeds got an early look at the film when it featured in the 2010 Leeds International Film Festival.

Elland Road 2023 cropped. Photo by Arne Müseler, via Wikimedia Commons.

 

Following the death of his father, Bertie has to endure the occasion of his Coronation, which in real life took place in Westminster Abbey, but for the purposes of the film the Coronation scenes and the scenes of the preparation for the occasion were shot at Ely Cathedral in Cambridgeshire.  The cathedral has been used in a number of top films, including Elizabeth: The Golden Age, The Other Boleyn Girl and Macbeth, as well as the Netflix series The Crown.    

Ely Cathedral

 

With Bertie installed as King, war breaks out against Germany, and Bertie is faced with having to make a broadcast to the nation, and Lionel Logue is summoned to Buckingham Palace to prepare him for the broadcast.  The interior of Buckingham Palace was filmed at Lancaster House, a government-owned building in London, which was rented at a cost of £20,000 a day for the filming.

Lancaster House from St James's Park London. Photo by Ricardalovesmonuments, via Wikimedia Commons.

Elland Road Stadium lies to the south-west of Leeds, near the M621.  The venue offers behind-the-scenes tours and the opportunity to purchase club merchandise.  Odsal Stadium is to the south of Bradford, near the A6036.  As well as rugby matches, the stadium hosts live music events.  Ely is one of the country’s smallest cathedral cities, located in the Fenland district of Cambridgeshire, with a picturesque riverside on the banks of the River Great Ouse.  The cathedral dates back to the 11^th century.  Lancaster House is run by the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office.  It was formerly known as York House, having been commissioned by the Duke of York in 1825.  Its sumptuous interior includes a Long Gallery, State Drawing Room and the Green Room.

 

 

LITERARY PUBS: THE BLACK LION HOTEL, NEW QUAY, CEREDIGION

 New Quay, a charming seaside village on Cardigan Bay, is famous for its dolphins, which can often be seen without even getting in a boat.  Another claim to fame is the fact that the notorious Welsh poet Dylan Thomas and his wife Caitlin spent a short time living there from 1944-1945 in a bungalow called Majoda, and that he based some of the characters in Under Milk Wood on people from New Quay.  While he no doubt visited most if not all the hostelries in the area, the Black Lion Hotel was a favourite of his.  The hotel featured in ‘Quite Early One Morning’, in which it was described as a pink-washed pub “waiting for Saturday night as an over-jolly girl waits for sailors”. 

The incident which led up to Dylan and his wife Caitlin moving out of New Quay started in the Black Lion.  William Killick, the husband of Dylan and Caitlin's neighbour and friend Vera, and a Captain fresh from a mission behind enemy lines in Greece, had a violent encounter with Dylan Thomas in the Black Lion and later attacked Majoda.  Dylan and Caitlin, no doubt unnerved by the incident, moved out of New Quay shortly afterwards.

The Black Lion still operates as a hotel, and serves decent meals to both residents and non-residents.  It is blessed with a large garden with lovely views over the bay.  Inside there is an array of photos and Dylan Thomas memorabilia.  Visitors to New Quay can follow a  Dylan Thomas Trail which includes both the Black Lion and Majoda.  In 2008 a film was released called The Edge of Love about Dylan and Caitlin and the Killicks starring Matthew Rhys, Cillian Murphy, Keira Knightley and Sienna Miller.  Many of the scenes from the film were shot in New Quay.

The Black Lion - geograph.org.uk - 3521553. Photo by Chris Whitehouse, via Wikimedia Commons.

 Map of the area.

A POETIC CORNER OF COUNTY LONDONDERRY: SEAMUS HEANEY/LOUGH BEG

 The Nobel Prize winning poet Seamus Heaney, who died in 2013, was born near the village of Bellaghy in County Londonderry, Northern Ireland, and he is also buried there at St Mary’s Church to the north of the village.  The surrounding countryside provided much inspiration for Heaney’s work, and there is now a museum, the Seamus Heaney HomePlace, dedicated to his life and work.

To the east-north-east of the village is a body of water called Lough Beg, north of the much bigger Lough Neagh.  Heaney’s extended family was touched by The Troubles in 1975 when his second cousin was shot dead, and it was after this tragic event that he wrote an elegy called The Strand at Lough Beg.  The poem’s references to his cousin’s violent death sit in stark contrast to the lyrical descriptions of the location: “Church Island’s spire, its soft treeline of yew”...the cattle “Up to their bellies in an early mist”...the “squeaking sedge”...”Lough Beg half shines under the haze”.

Lough Beg (Londonderry side) - geograph-2684320. Photo by Kenneth Allen, via Wikimedia Commons.

Lough Beg is a small freshwater lake which lies on the border between County Londonderry and County Antrim.  Church Island is a small island in the lake, its medieval church built on the site of an earlier monastic settlement.  The spire of the church provides a picturesque landmark.  The island lies within a protected nature reserve, so the best way to view it is via a specially constructed viewpoint at Longpoint Wood.

Church Island, Lough Beg - geograph-2684322. Photo by Kenneth Allen, via Wikimedia Commons.

Map of the area.

ON THE SCENT IN KENT: WHITSTABLE PEARL

Whitstable Pearl, currently showing on UKTV Play, is a light-hearted crime series with a bit of romance thrown in, starring Kerry Godliman as Pearl Nolan, owner of the Whitstable Pearl restaurant, and Howard Charles as DCI Mike McGuire, temporarily relocated to the town from London.  The series makes the most of the location of the title, with many of the town’s sights and landmarks putting in an appearance. 

In the opening episode, in which a body is found in an adrift boat, a strange, otherworldly sight comes into view on the horizon.  These are the Maunsell Forts, built during the Second World War for defence purposes.  Another classic Whitstable landmark seen in the episode as well as subsequent episodes is the Old Neptune, or Neppy, as it is fondly referred to by locals, a white clapboard pub perched on the edge of Whitstable’s shingle beach.

 

Maunsell Army Fort. Photo by Hywel Williams, via Wikimedia Commons.

Whitstable’s harbour, with its distinctive black clapboard sheds and huts and other assorted buildings, some of which form the harbour market, makes a regular appearance in the series, as do the beach huts stretching along the slopes towards Tankerton.  We also get glimpses of the row of beachfront houses backing onto Whitstable’s shingle beach, and of its shopping streets with an assortment of independent shops and galleries.

Harbourside market.

Whitstable is a quirky seaside town with bags of character, best known for its oysters, which are celebrated every year in the form of the Oyster Festival.  The Old Neptune is an unmistakable landmark on the town’s beach, and is probably the best place in town for sitting and admiring the sunsets, which can be seen clearly from here due to the town's west-facing position on the north coast of Kent.  The town’s back streets are full of the handsome clapboard buildings seen in many of the scenes in Whitstable Pearl.  For those who are curious about the Maunsell Forts, there are boat trips which take visitors out to these unique landmarks.

Map of the area.