East Chaldon Walk

Members of both the Roots and Ridgeway reading groups enjoyed a walk in and around East Chaldon; the home of the Powys brothers, other writers and artists from 1904 to 1963.

The walk set off in glorious weather, which stayed with us the whole time. Starting at the church of St Nicholas, we made our way up to Beth Car, the home of Theodore Powys. As it was a Sunday morning, and we were a sizeable group of twenty, we stood off to one side of the house to ensure the residents still had their Sunday morning privacy!

Beth Car - the former home of Theodore Powys

Beth Car is a typical late Victorian red brick house, which although some people at the time found ugly, Theodore Powys says 'a little ugliness may often hide more comfort than displeasure'. Beth Car was his second home in the village, with his wife Violet and children, having lived at Lilac Cottage for four years previously.

We made our way up to Hut Dairy where Sylvia Townsend Warner and Valentine Ackland lived after they moved out of Miss Green's Cottage, which was opposite The Sailor's Return. The cottage they shared at the back of the dairy has now been demolished, however it appeared to be in a pretty poor state even in the 1930's: 'we stepped out of it on to the untrammelled solitude of the downs. But it had no lighting, no sanitation, no damp course, and eight dead rats were dredged from it's well'

On the Chydyok Farm track

A walk up the track towards Chydyok Farm gave wonderful views of the downs and beyond. We paused for a breather and looked back towards the village, The Sailor's Return standing out clearly. David Garnett's novel of the same name is closely modelled on the inn and, quite possibly, some other aspects of East Chaldon and the surrounding countryside. It is possible to see the site of Miss Green's cottage, where Sylvia Townsend Warner and Valentine Ackland spent some of their happiest times. The cottage was destroyed by a stray bomb in WWII.
Granny Moxon's cottage can be seen peeping out behind The Sailor's Return. Granny (Annie) Moxon, a villager, was a favourite of Sylvia Townsend Warner and Valentine Ackland; she appears in the poetry and short stories of Sylvia Townsend Warner in various guises. Valentine Ackland was particularly close to Granny Moxon and felt her death badly.

The Five Marys on the southern ridge
between East Chaldon and the A352

The Five Marys are a group of barrows (burial mounds) from the Late Bronze Age (1620 - 700 BC). Actually there are at least six barrows but five of them are very conspicuous. The site was often visited by Theodore Powys, Sylvia Townsend Warner and Valentine Ackland. The hawthorn tree near to the Five Marys was significant for Llewelyn Powys, who also walked there frequently. Llewelyn Powys, a brother of T F Powys, lived firstly at one of the coastguard cottages up on the White Nothe (or White Nose or White Nore) later moving down to Chydyok Farm to be with his sisters Gertrude and Philippa (often known as Katie).

Walking down the track from Chydyok Farm,
with the Five Marys on the skyline, right.
The Sailor's Return is the low white building, left background

We finished our walk in the centre of the village, looking over at Lilac Cottage at the end of a row which, in the past, included the post office.

    

Lilac Cottage, the first home of Theodore Powys in East Chaldon

The walk, with stops to look and talk, took an hour and a half. The route can be extended to go up and past Chydyok Farm to the South West Coast Path, with some splendid views of Bats Head and the White Nothe. The Five Marys are on the road up from East Chaldon to the A352; there is a pull in for cars, it is still a special site.

There is parking in the village. They ask that people don't park on the verges but use the village car park: pass the Sailor's Return (on your right) and follow the road as it bears left, at the top edge of the grass triangle on the right is a wooden hut and the gate next to this is God's Pocket - the car park. They ask that people park around the edge of the field as children use it as a play area. There is no charge but the village is fund raising for a proper play area for the children.

I found Chaldon Herring; Writers in a Dorset Landscape by Judith Stinton an invaluable resource when researching for the content of the walk. I thoroughly recommend purchasing a copy if you wish to find out more about both the village and the people that lived there.

With thanks to Angie Green for the photographs