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Not far below Chadbury, past Wood Norton--a country seat of the Duke
of Orleans, and by him lately rebuilt--its deer park and plantations,
past flowery banks, and thick beds of rushes haunted by waterfowl, is
the village of Fladbury. Pleasant-looking houses with trim gardens
border the river on our right, and beyond are two mills, with the
rushing weir between. That on our left is Cropthorne Mill, now a
dwelling-house.
In Fladbury Church are some coats-of-arms in stained glass, said to
have come from the Abbey of Evesham. One shield bears the device of
Earl Simon. There is also a fine altar tomb, inlaid with brasses,
bearing the effigies of some members of the Throckmorton family. The
building is architecturally interesting, but the internal effect is
marred by the removal of the plaster, thus exposing the rough masonry
of "rubble," and the irregularity is much emphasised by "pointing."
On the opposite side of the river is Cropthorne, surmounting a steep
bank. Here are many picturesque cottages of timber and thatch, and in
this village of orchards, the effect of the street is much heightened
if it be seen in the time of the apple-blossom. In this and the
neighbouring parishes we may still find much of that rustic beauty
which we have learned to associate with the names of Birket Foster and
Mrs. Allingham.
The church contains many points of interest. As we enter we cannot but
be impressed by the simple arches of the Norman nave, the carved pews
of mediæval date, and the Jacobean monuments--their once gaudy
colouring mellowed by age. Few churches have been treated with such
gentle consideration, and rarely do we find the true Gothic feeling so
carefully preserved. A beautiful Saxon cross, intricately carved, and
the ancient altar stone, lately discovered buried beneath the floor,
are two valued treasures.
CHAPTER X
THE NEIGHBOURHOOD
The town of Evesham is most conveniently situated as a centre from
which to visit the broad vale and the surrounding hills. Within a
comparatively short distance a great variety may be noticed in the
general aspect of the country, and this is due not only to the contour
of the surface and the nature of the soil, but also to the manner of
cultivation; and, as has already been indicated, to the material
employed in the buildings. The vale itself is sheltered, and the soil
productive and capable of high cultivation, consequently the greater
part has been utilised for agriculture. Lately the market-gardening
industry, originating possibly in monastic times, has increased
enormously, and the appearance of the country for many miles round
Evesham has been transformed. In springtime the effect of the
plum-blossom is surprisingly beautiful; and in the autumn a luxuriant
effect is given by the heavily-laden trees bending beneath their
weight of yellow or purple fruit. But against these transient effects
we must place the tiresome regularity of the fruit-trees, their
uniform size and height, and the absence or monotony of colour during
a great part of the year, when the ground, the bushes, and the trees
are bare.
The prosperity brought to the inhabitants of the vale by this staple
industry is "writ large" in the towns and villages wherever it is
practised, and, from the picturesque point of view, the gain is more
than doubtful.
But though fruit-growing has spread in every direction, we can with
ease escape beyond its limits, and even within them we may still find
cornfields, rich pasture and woodlands, thriving farms, and villages
still unspoiled by the modern "jerry-builder."
The hill country does not come within the limits of this volume, but
it may be easily reached--the nearest points being Broadway, and the
villages of Ashton-under-hill and Elmley Castle, both lying under
Bredon. The value of the hills as a shelter and background to the vale
has been touched on in former pages; and the debt which the valley
owes to the stone which they provide, and the architectural style
which grew up amongst them, cannot be overestimated.
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New, Edmund H. - Evesham