Newsletter of The John Hampden Society No. 32 - Summer 2002 The John Hampden Society exists to bring together people with an interest in John Hampden, and to encourage wider knowledge of this great 17th century Parliamentarian, his life and times SPECIAL GRAMPOUND ISSUE n Saturday 1st and Sunday 2nd sent another which I had affixed, but there OSeptember 2001, the Society unveiled were wrinkles in it which I hoped their two plaques in Grampound, Cornwall to expertise could remove. They couldn’t mark the fact that this had been John without producing a new graphic, but they Hampden’s first Parliamentary seat in lent me a tool which should do the trick, 1621. The following is a diary of the and instructed me on the correct way to week’s activities, written jointly by Event roll the banner. Organiser Graham Barfield and Vice- Lunch was at a very good country pub Chairman Roy Bailey. near Axminster located down some of the narrowest Devon lanes I had ever negoti- ated, and a later stop was at Launceston, just into Cornwall, where I bought a wire Monday 27th August. Seal of the Ancient Borough of Grampound with Creed brush, some steel wool and a bottle of deruster to deal with the tarnished halberd G.B. Not an ideal day to start travelling - a wreath of flowers, and Tim Oliver’s hal- heads. Bank Holiday - but ever since falling asleep berds. The latter just fitted into the vehicle and ditching and writing off my car near diagonally, and everything else went on I reached Grampound at about 5.30 pm Winslow whilst driving to address a Chil- top. and found Graham ensconced in the guest terns local history group about John Hamp- house. Mrs Pat Miller, owner of Trevail, First stop was Swindon, where I was had originally offered to put me up there, den, I’ve been a bit wary of driving long hoping to pick up the new promotional distances alone. but as the week running up to the event leaflets from the printers. Unfortunately was school holidays, she had her son David So I broke the journey from my home in they were not ready (my fault for not and her two grandsons staying, so there Derbyshire by staying overnight with getting the artwork to them sooner), but was no room. friends near Monmouth. The car was laden the proprietor promised that they would be ready later in the day and he would send However, learning from Graham that he with everything I might need - lots of tools, was inhabiting a twin-bedded room at extension cable, folding steps, 60 bottles of them to my address in Grampound by courier. Perran House, two doors away from Tre- John Hampden’s Ale, all my photography vail, I had prevailed upon him and landlady gear plus tripod and about 200 copies of the From there it was a pleasant drive across Mrs Yvonne Diboll to let me share with book John Hampden of Buckinghamshire – some of the best countryside in Southern him. ‘I warn you I snore’, said Graham. The People’s Hero. England to Lyme Regis, where I had to call ‘So do I’, I replied. We were both on the makers of our banner. Because I understating the fact! was not happy with the first version of the portrait of John Hampden on it, they had Tuesday 28th August. G.B. A fairly late start, and back to the M5 across the old R.B. Although I had not in- Severn bridge at Chepstow, tended to arrive in Grampound happy that there is no toll on much before tea time, I left home exiting the Welsh side. I was in West Berkshire at about 8.45 horrified to discover a week later am, as I had a number of calls to that it was £4.40 to come back. make. A long haul between Bristol and My Volvo Estate, with the back Exeter; over 70 miles and an seats folded forward, was pretty almost equally long stretch on the heavily laden, with my luggage A30 between there and Bodmin. for the best part of a fortnight, all the exhibition material, the slide I passed through Bugle, dwarfed projector, a number of important by vast china clay spoil moun- files, my photographic equip- tains and dropped down into St. ment, a large case containing a Austell, where the industry seems Trevail, where John Hampden is said to have stayed, and still to be flourishing. camcorder, bits of uniform, the where the first plaque was unveiled. As I drove along the A390 and saw the Wednesday 29th August Creed Parish Council, with whom we had sign for Grampound I found it hard to both had a voluminous exchange of letters believe that the project we first mooted and phone calls since early in 2000 and G.B. Roy was kind enough to say that a who is clearly a good organiser. nearly two years ago was finally within plus feature of my loud snoring is that it days of completion. muffled the noise of the passing traffic. We were slightly nonplussed to discover I booked into Perran House, the guest- (Well, almost! – R.B.) I called to see Peter that the school had absolutely no means of house on the main (virtually the only) street Williams, the Churchwarden of Creed blacking out the huge window, so we in Grampound, to be joined shortly after by church. He lives a bit further up the street wondered how we were going to make our Roy. He was accompanied by the state-of- beyond the Dolphin and was in the back slides visible at the evening talks. This was the-art camcorder loaned by the National garden doing something technical, so I left a solved by Roger sweet-talking the adjacent Film & Television School through the kind message with his wife that I would like to village bowls club into letting us have the offices of our member Jim Rodda, who is fix the plaque in the church during Thurs- use of their modern club house which has their Finance Director. day. much smaller windows equipped with blinds. I then joined Roy at the Church of England pri- R.B. As promised the new promotional mary school at the bot- leaflets arrived at Perran House by courier, tom of the street and but when I opened them - what a disap- met helpful, merry pointment. The photographs were of a poor Jenny Luzmoor the resolution and looked very muddy. When I Head Teacher, who in showed one to Jenny Luzmoor she agreed the course of conversa- with me, so I got a message to the printers tion told us she is a that the result was unsuitable and that I good Catholic. Seems a would be returning them for reprinting in sensible, logical and due course. Meanwhile, we were obliged to even-handed choice for use them. running a C. of E. school. Rather more successful were the small enamel badges depicting John Hampden R.B . Although it was which Robert Hammond had designed and still the school holidays produced, and had posted to me at the Jenny was in and about guesthouse. every day of our visit except Friday, and went As if this was not enough, halfway Roy Bailey sets up the exhibition in the school out of her way to be through the morning I received a message helpful, despite having from my wife Annabel that several people As the insurer required a £1000 excess school matters to deal with. had phoned to complain that cheques I had payment from the client if the equipment recently issued from the Society’s cheque got lost, stolen or damaged, Roy under- Architecturally, Grampound School is a book were bouncing. This was due to using standably kept close hold of the item at all typical Victorian chapel-like village school, a book erroneously reported as lost, but I times. (You’d better believe it! – R.B.) with a high ceiling and a large arched thought I had sorted this out in writing. So window at the western end. This was later I had to break off from setting up the We moved into the bijou room we were to prove to a problem. The main body of the exhibition to try phoning the bank - without sharing at the front of the building over- building was divided into two by a glass success. looking the main road, along which traffic screen, and the larger part races virtually non-stop all night. No won- nearer to the entrance was der the inhabitants are agitating for a by- to be the site of the Soci- pass. ety’s exhibition. Roy wanted to call straightaway on Mrs Jenny had kindly ar- Miller at Trevail a few doors up the street, ranged for some tables to to discuss the plaque siting on her house be placed down the centre front, but I insisted on priorities (Very wise! of this room, on which – R.B.) and we went another few doors up were the school’s display the street for a meal at The Dolphin Inn, boards. These were a lot Grampound’s only pub. Here, to our sur- smaller in total area than prise, we found our landlady serving behind the display stand we nor- the bar! mally use belonging to the John Hampden Pri- We visited Mrs Miller and her son David mary School at Thame, on the way back to Perran House. David, so I had to set to work to on holiday from Peterborough, was once a make our material fit.