The Beaver herald. [volume] (Beaver, O.T. [Okla.]) 1895-1923, 1918-01-24

A BOUT six miles southeast Of
~ the ancient town of Cirences-
~ ter. with its Roman memories
and, perhaps, the finest church
porch that England can show. and
some three miles north of the quaint
townlet Of Cricklade. redolent of An
glo-Saxon history, and boasting a CEN
tral lantern tower to its church un-
matched in all Wiltshire, lies the
charming village OF Down Ampney-
one Of four Ampney villages that clus-
ter TO the east of Cirencester. The VIII
lage is right away from the church and
the manor house. The trusting strang-
er visiting 1t from either of the above
mentioned towns should be warned
that he is coming to an inn-less Eden,
where the good entertainment for
man and beast" that used TO be the
boast of our village hostelries is not
to be had; nor will he find It in the
neighboring village of Latton, just
across the Wiltshire border. II is fair
to say that both villages seem to get
along very comfortably without inns /:
only the stranger within their gates
suffers for the austere virtue of the ma
tives, writes Henry Martin Gibbs in
Country Life.
The beauty of the surrounding cOun-
try, the limestone SOLVE are here on
the border of the Cotswolds-and the
keenly bracing air must be taken as
.r,ra1 Ir
is country of rich pasturelands, trout
streams and water meadows, where
"the willows by the brooks" are a IA
miliar feature; and far away stretch
out blue distances, ranges of hills,
copses and church SPIRES strangely
peaceful country. in which hardly n
sound seems to break the stiffness, and
in this wartime, bereft Of its male
population. II seems doubly deserted.
Yet the broad high roads are there, the
roads that were made near two thou
sand years ago by the Roman con-
querors. They stretch out across the
fiat foreground into the dim perspec-
tive of the horizon-the Ermlne Way
and the Fosse Way crossing each 9TH
er at Cirencester like the arms of q
St Andrews cross.
Where the Romans camped.
Naturally. such a country is rich in
legends of titanic conflicts between Ro-
man ard Briton, Briton and Saxon,
Saxon and Dane. Cirencester. as its
name tells us, was a Roman castrum
Of some Importance, and the town
abounds In relics of the Roman occu-
patton, which took place about the
year so A. u. At ChedwOrth, close 10
the FOsse Way, some u miles north of
Down Ampney, the remains of Ro-
man villa-one of the four first-rate
ones found in this country-were dis
covered in 1864. The fact that four
crosses were found here-one of the
few positive evidences of Romano-Brit-
ish Christianity In Gloucestershire-
lends additional interest to this discov-
cry.
Clrencester, with the other Ro-
cities of Bath AID Glou-
ces.sr. fell to the Saxon conQuerors In
5IT, but it was the best part of GEN.
tury later before Christianity, crushed
out by this Hun invasion of old time,
was reintroduced under the auspices of
king OF Mercia. A later
wave of invasion-this time by the
place in 905. when Crlck-
lade was plllaged. and the same town
was taken and plundered by the fol-
lowers Of Cnut a century later. The
Norman invasion seems 10 have been
a more gradual afrair-nore like the
peaceful penetration" of our own
times. No doubt the Saxon thane and
eorl gave place TO intrudlng Normans,
but the bulk Of the population, serfs
and freemen. were probably but little
disturbed by the new order.
One other event of more than local
Importance occurred in those far-of
times, which must not be left unre-
corded. At the northern end of the
bridge or ford of the River Thames,
which takes its rise not far from here
at place called Aust, In COS st. Au-
gustine Of Canterbury held his cele-
brated conference with the bishops
Ahu uoctors OF the brltish cnurcn.
The House and Church.
Down Ampney is near enough to this
famous spot TO be permitted to share
Its fame. Enough has been said to in.
dicate the historical interest as well
as the natural charms of the setting.
Let Us turn to the house and church.
Doubtless both occupy the sites of
far Older buildings. We may take II
that there was settlement here under
tire Saxon sway, and probably during
the Roman occupation; how far earlier
Il Is useless TO speculate. And though |
the church has nothing TO show of ear
Iier date than the charming late
twelfth century arcades of its nave,
we may assume that these were pierced |
lhrough older Norman or Saxon walls.