Download - Issue 15 NEW BEGINNINGS
Welcome to the new look Newsletter of the Friends
of Arundells. We hope it
will be of interest to you and give you an insight
into the continuing work
of the Friends and some of the personalities involved
in fighting to save Arun-
dells for the nation.
Following the meeting of
the Friends on 22nd Sep-
tember a Committee was formed with Tony Burn-
side as President. Gerald
Gibbons was elected as deputy chairman / chair-
man elect. Bob Hayes and Jim Humberstone have
agreed to become vice
chairmen. There is still one vacancy on the com-
mittee. The first commit-
tee meeting has been held in order to continue the
stirling work Tony has done. He has developed
the Friends of Arundells to such an extent that he felt
the organisation would
now be more efficiently
run by a Committee.
Tony has worked tire-
lessly for the Friends and
was ready to take a back seat once the Committee
took over. However, he was persuaded to become
President of the Friends
and will be a valuable consultant to the Commit-
tee as we move forward
into the next stage of the
campaign.
This edition of the News-
letter contains the thoughts and observations
of some of the Volunteers
who have given up their time this summer every
Thursday to open the
House to the public for an
extra day.
As the newly appointed Editor of the Newsletter I
would welcome contribu-
tions, letters, comments from any of the Friends
from far and near. Contact
details are on the back page and the closing date
for copy for the January
issue is 10th December.
The Newsletter is de-
signed and published by
another volunteer, Ron Carter, whose skills will
be evident to you from
this edition’s excellent
presentation.
Stevie Paul … Editor.
NEW BEGINNINGS
The Present is Rooted in the Past
When I am asked why I am so passionate about
Arundells my natural re-
sponse is to say that it is an important part of our
heritage and there is a real
danger that Sir Edward’s wishes will not be upheld.
On reflection this provides an insufficient rationale
from someone who has allowed the Arundell’s
campaign to develop into
a full time occupation!
I have to go back nearly half a century to the Gen-
eral Election of 1964
when, as a thirteen year
old working class lad, I witnessed Ted Heath pass-
ing by our council house
in Bexley Road - standing up in his open top car
waving to the voters as he
made his way to Erith Town Hall to pay in his
£150 deposit. While my
contemporaries wore the
Contd. on page 2
Supported by:
Tony Benn
Dame Elisabeth Hoodless
Robert Buckland MP
Robert Walter MP
Neil Carmichael MP
Geoffrey Howe
Charles Kennedy MP
John Glen MP for Salisbury -
An introduction to a Vice Chairman 2
September meeting of the Friends 3
On volunteering at Arundells 4
A view from the back stair 4
Notes from the house and garden 5
The wider vision 5
Arundells and The Close connection 6
Inside this issue:
Ne
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Wo
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Aru
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Na
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Issue 15
November 2012
blue rosette of Chelsea FC, this chance glance of the drama of a passing exuber-
ant politician was to ignite a lifelong
passion for politics in me.
I only met Edward Heath on four occa-sions but collectively these have had a
profound effect. The first occasion was
1974, mid way between two turbulent General Elections that ousted Ted from
his premiership and finally sealed his political fate. The photographer of the
local Walsall rag captured us in an in-
tense and animated conversation about election strategy where I am seen rebuk-
ing him with a pointed finger!
By 1976 Heath, deposed as party leader,
had found a new role for himself in
touring the country and contributing to by- election successes. At the end of one
such rally in the famous Walsall North
by–election there was, by chance, an-other brief encounter. On leaving the
hall Heath, confident and avuncular,
noticed me wearing a huge election rosette. He changed direction and
marched up to me and said with shoul-ders shaking and to the amusement of
the crowded foyer “If your effort is as
big as your rosette we will win this
seat!”
Just twenty years after that first sighting
of Edward Heath in 1964, the former
Prime Minister and European Statesman came to Dudley to support me in my
campaign to win a seat in the European Parliament. It was the proudest moment
of my life to share a public platform
with my political mentor.
The last time I met Heath was in Canter-
bury when he was on tour giving a lec-
ture and promoting his book. He was now an elder statesman, grave in tone
and somewhat intimidating. I was the
last person in the book signing queue but had not the courage to remind him
of our previous encounters. From the 1990s Sir Edward Heath had become
my political compass, providing clarity
of direction on the great political issues
of the day.
Tony Burnside, President of The
Friends of Arundells.
Page 2
An Introduction to a Vice Chairman
NEWS LET TER
Those who know me at Arundells see
me by now, I think as good humoured and slightly gregarious in my manner
but most know little of my back-
ground. As a new Vice Chairman I thought it was time to make others
aware of who I am and why I joined the
Friends.
In my early 60’s I have lived in Salis-
bury for all of my adult life, happily
married to Ann now for more than forty years. We have a son, James, of 31 and
a married daughter, Claire of 34, both in successful careers and living locally
in their own homes. I’ve been involved
with a number of local activities over the past years, including being Chair-
man of the Salisbury Swimming Club
for more than 5 years over the Mille-
nium.
In 2010 I decided to pull away from
my career in the packaging manufactur-ing industry to work as a consultant to
the industry, giving me the ability to
work at my own pace and style but more importantly, the pressures of
modern day commercial life at Director
level is a great strain and my own posi-
tion was suffering from the peculiar and unwelcome domination of new French
company ownership. So I took early
retirement, classifying myself now as semi-retired. A lot of my spare time is
now taken up with my deep involve-ment with Sarum St.Martins Church,
Salisbury as Church Warden and I am
now also looking forward to giv-ing more of my time to working
on behalf of the Friends.
I have worked in association with many European companies and
various delightful Italian, Span-
ish, German and Dutch colleagues since the 1980’s and so have become indoc-
trinated into the European commercial
scene. This is why I connected to, and approved of, Sir Edward’s great ac-
complishment of taking Great Britain into the European Community. Despite
that I had previously disapproved of
him during his term as Prime Minister. We were married in 1971 and suffered
in the dark days of power strikes!
However, I instantly changed my mind having visited Arundells during 2008. I
had my eyes opened to his greatness
and later on, through reading the biog-
raphy by Philip Zeigler, I became even more aware of Sir Edward’s skills and
abilities.
When the media started announcing the
possible closure of Arundells I was in-censed and then , to my surprise and
delight, Tony Burn-side opened the win-
dow to possibilities, I
announced to my wife that I was going to
contact Tony immedi-
ately.
The rest is history but I must add that I
am delighted to have met so many ex-
tremely nice people in my fellow volun-teers. All are extremely dedicated to this
cause, like me, and I enjoy every minute
we are all together. Well done to you all and let’s keep up the fight to keep Arun-
dells open.
Bob Hayes … Joint Vice Chairman.
I am delighted to
have met so many
extremely nice people
in my fellow volun-
teers
I SS UE 15
How do you get 40 + people into a vil-
lage cricket pavilion/hall?
You take a warm September Saturday, a
good lunch, excellent organisation, a witty and intelligent chairman and a
common purpose.
At this first meeting of the Friends of
Arundells, I found it very useful, as one
not in the original group, to learn of the beginnings of this association and how
it has progressed to its present state. The number of Friends and the distances
from which several had travelled was
amazing.
It was clear that the overriding raison d’etre was to help to fulfil the wishes of
Sir Edward Heath, for the future of
Arundells, as outlined in his will. It brought to mind a quote from EH made
in a speech in 1970 – “We may be a small island, but we are not a small peo-
ple”, this seems to me to be an apt de-
scription of the Friends unselfish moti-vation and that pulling together with
the Trustees and other parties will pro-
duce the right outcome. Perhaps this positive magnitude of effort had a bear-
ing upon the recent success of the host-ing of both Olympic Games; I under-
stand the bid was successful not least
because of its emphasis on legacy.
Some common ground here?
I am able to volunteer only once a
month at Arundells and have always looked forward eagerly to my duties on
Thursdays. I have the happiest, most
enjoyable, informative and at times laughter filled experience with col-
leagues and many members of the pub-
lic. The house appears to have an aura of charm and delight that affects guides
and visitors alike. Especially notable are our pianists whose talents always entice
visitors to the drawing room. We know
the visitors enjoy their experience from the comments they make in the book
and that they have a strong appetite to
keep the house open. They wish others to have the opportunity to enjoy the
house and contents too. It was clear from the Meeting that others had made
similar observations.
Page 3
September Meeting of the Friends
Some of the Room Stewards at Arundells
Financial statement, the formation and
election of a committee all proceeded apace with purpose and humour. Whilst
not all offices were filled, enough com-
mittee members were in place for the first committee meeting to be held on
the 1st October 2012.
I was dismayed by the recent corre-spondence and a ‘Times’ editorial,
which had been displayed, for our in-
formation. It was ironic that an article in ‘The Times’ had originally exhorted
me to visit Arundells in case it closed, and that I shouldn’t miss the opportu-
nity. My how ‘Times’ change!
After the formalities, Tony and Michael
extended their multifarious generosity to an invitation for the Friends to join
them at their home for tea and cakes
after the meeting. It was idyllic; hosts, tea, cakes, a lovely garden and a real
joy to chat to some Friends I hadn’t met before. A perfect end to this important
meeting.
Since becoming a Friend I have been
made more aware of aspects of Sir Ed-ward’s life and whilst not using the
following reference in exactly the con-
text in which he meant it, I should like
to think that his words have some reso-
nance today. Made in a speech in 1974 – he said, “I am not a product of privi-
lege, I am a product of opportunity”. I
feel that because of his generosity I am the product of privilege, I am able to
visit Arundells and I hope to be part of the whole group which extends that
opportunity to others and keeps Arun-
dells open to the public.
Janice Deane.
Stop Press
A meeting was held on the 25th October between the Trustees and representatives of the Friends of Arundells. Lord Armstrong an-nounced their decision to apply to the Charity Commission again for permission to sell Arundells. They intend to close Arundells finally on the 29th October 2012. Although there was discussion and ques-tions asked by the Friends it ap-peared that the trustees decision is
final, as far as they are concerned.
The Friends of Arundells will there-fore be mounting a vigorous cam-paign to oppose this action. You will receive more details after the committee meeting on the 8th No-vember. Full details of the Trustees reasoning can be found on The
Arundells website.
www. Arundells.co.uk
returning from the Isle of Wight in the early hours of the morning on the ferry,
along with several other lorry drivers.
They were lining the rail contemplating the long day ahead when ‘Morning
Cloud’ hove into view with Sir Edward
at the helm. He waved heartily to the passengers as he passed closely by, only
to be met with a lot of glum faces and negative responses from the crowd of
lorry drivers whose politics were defi-
nitely not of the same colour!
Recently, I was explaining to a group of visitors about how the Chinese wall-
paper had kept its colours without fad-
ing, despite being there for over twenty years, when one of the group said, ‘I am
an artist, and the paint is probably egg tempura which has a reputation for
keeping its colour’. You learn some-
thing every day!
Talking of the wallpaper, it supposedly represents the Chinese legend of the
‘Monkey King’. Some of our Japanese
guests dispute this fact, laying claim to the legend as their own. Do we have an
arbitrator out there?
The only criticism of my chosen place
to steward is the proximity of the back
door to the garden. On most sunny calm days it is a pleasure to have the door
open, so that a gentle breeze and the scents of the garden can waft in. But on
cooler days, when it is decided that
some fresh air would be beneficial. the breeze feels like a howling gale! The
gale transfers to the main corridor, my-
self, and the Stewards at the open front door begin to look decidedly blue!
However this is but a small discomfort for the pleasure I gain from volunteering
in this beautiful home.
Ron Carter
Thursday afternoons finds me in my usual spot in the fun part of the house,
by the back stairs. Why the fun part?
It’s the area that houses Sir Edward Heath’s collection of political cartoons.
Many a visitor has spent some time
here, laughing their heads off. Some even remember how they laughed when
a cartoon first appeared in a publication,
generally the more mature visitors!
One or other cartoon may have a par-
ticular poignancy for visitors. I remem-
ber an instance when I was pointing out a particular cartoon illustrating the time
when Sir Edward went to rescue the
hostages from Saddam Hussein in Iraq. A voice from behind me said. ‘Yes, one
of those hostages was my son.’
By listening to visitors one can pick up a lot of information. It is surprising that
many people who come to see us either
knew him personally or remember a particular incident when they had met
him.
One visitor, an ex lorry driver, had been
To step across the threshold of the front door of Arundells is to be transported
into a rare world of culture and interest,
seen through my eyes as a volunteer room steward there. I hear the many
comments from visitors, who tell me
their visit here has been one of sheer delight, of pleasure and enjoyment and
of the many surprises the House has held for them. Whether it is the sound of
Handel’s Water Music being played on
the Steinway Grand Piano drifting through the rooms, seeing the quite re-
markable Art collection or hearing the
stories and the laughter ringing out in Sir Edwards’s home, all have added to
the charm, the ambience and the utter
uniqueness of their visit.
Also, I stress the word Home. For Arun-
dells is just that. It gives one and all a feeling of warmth and comfort, which
Sir Edward so readily extended to his
many guests during the twenty years he lived here. A visit will culminate in a
memorable wander around Arundell’s
stunning garden, so beautifully kept by
willing hands.
Visitors and Volunteers alike are at one
with their feelings for the future of Arundells as it is now, a long and happy
one, continuing to bring joy to the many
people who have yet to sample its rich
culture and heritage.
Sue Eastham.
Page 4
A View from the Back Stair
On Volunteering at Arundells
NEWS LET TER
Malcom, one of our volunteer pian-
ists. (Photograph courtesy of Neil Crick)
I SS UE 15
Brief Notes on the John Piper Paint-
ings
As an Artist myself and also a Volun-
teer Steward I have a particular interest
in Sir Edward’s wonderful collection of Art and would like to pass on some
notes I have made on John Piper.
Having a very early interest in Architec-
ture, John Piper visited all the Churches
in Surrey with John Betjeman and the “Shell Guides”, visiting ten churches in
one day!
Piper is known for his prints (Tate Brit-
ain), pottery, glass in Coventry Cathe-
dral, stage designs and photography. He was also an Art Critic, he played piano
in a dance band and was influenced by
Picasso, Turner and Palmer in his paint-
ing.
His paint-
ings
have been described as having great gusts of
enthusiasm, pulsing with energy with their random colours and often with
very dark skies. King George was said
to have asked Piper if he had bad weather whilst painting Windsor Castle
as commissioned by the Queen Mother!
Piper’s chosen mediums include water
colours, wax resistant, pastels, ink,
chalk and gauche. A truly remarkable artist and little wonder that he was a
favourite of Sir Edward whose collec-tion of Piper’s are a huge draw for par-
ticular visitors. Tess Thomas
Gardeners Four
Every garden has its own unique per-
sonality. When Sir Edward came to live at Arundells in 1985 he commissioned
landscape designers to renovate the garden. We are fortunate that one of the
members of that firm remained in Sir
Edward’s employ and is the Curator in the House today. I know from him a
little of Sir Edward’s vision for his gar-
den. He wished the garden to be easy to maintain and to be cultivated organi-
cally. Today it is still substantially as he
wished it to be.
Now that I have worked as a volunteer
in the garden through half the year, from March to October, I have formed my
own impression of its unique character. The overall atmosphere is peaceful and
relaxed. You are not distracted from the
incomparable views, Salisbury’s soaring Spire at the front and the confluence of
the rivers Avon and Nadder at the back,
with the water meadows stretching be-
yond the elaborate garden features.
The meandering design leads around corners to hidden treasures – a statue of
a young girl holding a birdbath, a tall
Maple, currently in all its autumn glory with its scarlet leaves. When we cleared
the tall Campanula last month, purple
autumn cyclamen appeared on the
cleared ground.
I imagine Sir Edward walking through his garden in the evenings, relishing
both the surprises and the continuing
tranquillity. It must have given him a great deal of solace. Now it gives pleas-
ure to the many visitors who stroll
through it, sit to admire the views and
almost say “ I wish I lived here”
Val Potter
Being a volunteer gardener at Arundells
is a delight. The garden is such a pleas-ure to work in with its many interesting
shrubs and plants to admire and appreci-
ate. The two rivers , the Avon and Nad-der, flowing along at the end of the gar-
den just adds to the peacefulness. I
really enjoy my Thursdays here.
Gill Wileman Cooke
I wasn’t sure what to expect when I
volunteered to be a gardener at Arun-dells, but I have found the garden most
rewarding to work in. I very often feel I
would like to do ‘overtime’ to get a job finished. Its been interesting to see the
changes since the beginning of the year, starting with cutting back the bluebells
in the dell, moving onto the summer
flower displays and now the beautiful
autumnal colours. Jean Carter
We are glad to hear that Margaret, our
fourth garden volunteer is recovering from her eye operation. We expect to
hear from her in the next edition.
again. Twenty-five years later he be-came Prime Minister, and in 1972, after
a demanding 12 hour talk with French
President, George Pompidou, he paved the way for a successful outcome to
Britain’s third attempt to join the Euro-
pean Economic Community (Jan 1973).
Much has changed since the 70s. But
Heath’s passion for seeing the big pic-ture and building partnerships for peace
and prosperity is as critical now as ever
Arundells is more than a visitor attrac-tion in a fabulous setting. The house
with its remarkable contents is a robust
reminder of one man’s passion for the pursuit of peace and amity between
peoples once at war. In 1944-5 Major
Edward Heath witnessed at first hand the devastation of modern warfare. He
was a Battery Commander in North West Europe. The experience forged
his commitment to European Unity.
Such warfare should never happen
it was. The European Union is at a cross-road. The choice – not just for Ger-
many and the Euro zone – is between
closer co-operation or the eventual
break-up of the Union.
Heath was no ‘Little Englander’. His active involvement with leaders from
across the globe is vividly illustrated
through the photos, furnishings and artwork that ornament his home. The
Chinese wall paper on the stairway tells
Contd. On back page
Page 5
Notes from the house and garden
The Wider Vision
His paintings have
been described as hav-
ing great gusts of en-
thusiasm
Val, Jean and Gill taking a break for
the photo. Photograph courtesy of Jean Carter
Editorial Contact Details.
F RIEN DS OF
ARUN DELLS
Arundells and The Close connection
Editor….Stevie Paul. Email [email protected] Tel 07799646136 / 01722 742987
We are on the web
www.thefriendsofarundells.org.uk
Contd. from page 5
the story of the trickster Monkey King
and his Journey to the West with a Bud-dhist monk intent on retrieving ancient
wisdom. Today the unfolding story of
China will become a dominant narrative in the events that will shape our lives.
Heath’s legacy reminds each of us – regardless of political affiliation – to
respond creatively to the challenges of
our world by deepening our mutual un-derstanding and by re-evaluating our
prejudices concerning each other’s cul-
tures. Arundells – in keeping with the terms of Sir Edward’s Will – could and
should become a Centre for promoting that quality of international friendship
and understanding upon which all our
futures depend.
See for example, Ian Traynor in the
Guardian 12th September 2012.
“When China Rules the World”. Martin
Jacques (Penguin 2nd edition 2012)
John Potter
Campaigning to save the former
home of Sir Edward Heath for the
nation.
We have become accustomed to the idea that clergymen usually inhabit their own
purpose built houses. In Medieval
times, the Canons, members of the Ca-thedral Chapter, would reside in Canon-
ries built around the Cathedral.
In Salisbury, from 1220 to 1258, a new
Cathedral was built from scratch on the
flood plain. The importance of this Ca-thedral is clearly demonstrated by the
fact that over 80 acres of land around
the building were set aside for The Close where many magnificent Canon-
ries were to be built. Alongside this was the Bishop’s “planted and planned” new
town of Sarum , now Salisbury, an exer-
cise which involved extensive planning and the deliberate relocation of a great
Church from its ancient hilltop at Old
Sarum two miles away.
The 13th Century building which
evolved into Arundells was one of 15 similar structures intended to be located
on the west side of the Close. The
Bishop ordered these to be built by the Canons, to serve as their main accom-
modation. There would have been room
for servants and later perhaps one of the Vicars Choral who assisted the Canon
with his work at the Cathedral.
Throughout the Middle Ages the Church was a great landowner as well
as being a political power in the land. Its senior clergy were expected therefore to
maintain a sense of status, demonstrated
through their accommodation and life style. Providing hospitality was an im-
portant part of this responsibility. We
know Henry Blunston, Archdeacon of Dorset, lived in Arundells at the end of
the 13th Century. Given his position, it is highly likely he would have enter-
tained on a significant scale.
Arundells was, occupied by a Canon in the 16th Century. This was the notorious
Leonard Bilson, imprisoned in 1571 for
sorcery and suchlike!
The House was eventually let to the
laity when the Cathedral did not need such much accommodation for its
Clergy. The Mompesson family lived in it for several generations until they man-
aged to acquire the lease of a larger
property facing Choristers Green. This is now the National Trust property
known as Mompesson House.
The Wyndham family took over the lease and in the early 18th Century reno-
vated the House and put on the Queen Anne frontage. It was re-named Arun-
dells when one of the Wyndham family
married a daughter of the Duke of Nor-folk of Arundel Castle in Sussex. Dur-
ing their tenancy Jesuit priests were
given sanctuary in the roof of the House. Evidence of their cells are still to
be seen in the loft. Quite a triumph for a Catholic family in such an elite Angli-
can enclave!
In its time the House has been a discreet school for young ladies and a convales-
cent home for war wounded soldiers. What is clear from this brief history is
that Arundells has always had a special
aura. How fitting that its last and possi-bly final owner should be a man for
whom warmth and hospitality were such
important values in his life.
Jim Humberstone & Stevie Paul.
Arundells Coffee Club
Many of the volunteers have ex-pressed a wish to remain in touch with each other and with what is happening with Arundells over the winter months so it has been decided to start a Coffee Club to be held at The Cosy Club, in New Street, Salisbury every Thursday from 15th November. Any Friend of Arundells will be welcome to come along to this venue on an informal basis anytime between 2.30 and 4pm on any or all of the following Thursdays until further notice. You will be sure to find a familiar face , to be able to relax in convivial surroundings and share your news. A copy of the most recent Newsletter will be placed on an appropriate table to identify the Group’s position. Do come whether you are a Volun-teer a Friend or both. The Cosy Club is next door to The New Inn and can provide coffee, tea and
meals or a bar if required. Contact Stevie Paul (Editor) for further information
Page 6