My Nan grew up in Wellingborough, England. Last week I got to see her childhood home, and today we went to her birth home in order to shoot a short little video.
(Nan’s brother, Uncle Raymond, jokingly claims she was found, not born.)
England: Buckingham Palace, Big Ben, and boats
Sunday began bright and early: we had to catch a train from Wellingborough into London for the day.
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England: Visiting villages in Northamptonshire
Wow, what a day!
Andrew and Toni took Nan and me around to a number of villages in Northamptonshire with family connections.
The first stop was Brafield on the Green. At the church we found a lady who had just finished cleaning and was heading out. She graciously opened the church for us and directed us to the farm that formerly belonged to the Sargeant family. My great-great-grandmother Emily Elizabeth Barker worked there in service (more or less as a maid).
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England: Trip to the coast
Today Uncle Raymond drove us northwest from Finedon up to the seaside town of Hunstanton. I was excited to see the coast when he had offered to take us. The sea is a powerful image in Tolkien’s mythology, along with the calls of the gulls.
England: Oxford
Today we took a trip to Oxford. I had asked about the possibility of going, mostly because of my interest in Tolkien and the Inklings.
The company included myself, my mom, my uncle Raymond, his son-in-law Andrew, and Andrew’s daughter Charlotte. Andrew was our tour guide and Charlotte was our chauffeur.
It was a great trip. Highlights included climbing an old Saxon church tower, eating at the Turf Tavern, having a drink at the Eagle and Child pub, and seeing a couple of backpackers dressed in complete Mario and Luigi costumes.
England: The Embankment
I am visiting England for one week with my mother and grandmother. My grandmother, whom I call “Nan,” was born and raised in England before leaving as a young woman to marry an American (my “Papa”).