The Green Meet

Many thanks to Alexander Ogilvie-Graham for writing this reflective piece on an event that took place in the Palace.

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The Green Meet was towards the tail end of Lockdown, on May 2, 2021.

It was a rebirth for the Palace; a chance to welcome visitors back onto the site. It was a roaring success! We had over 1,500 people coming through just the front gate in one afternoon. We had live music and great afternoon talks with various curators . I liked seeing how there were tents in the walled garden workshop happening throughout the front lawn.

Giant chess on the Palace lawn.

The Queens Gambit. What a chess move! The Palace has managed to pull it off towards the end of Lockdown.

It was a honour being at the front gate with my Carer, Helen Cameron. We had got there early to scout out the Palace grounds . It was fantastic to see it teeming with life once more.

Overall, it was like apple day - a complete success. The Green Meet had the final check mate. I think this could become the beginning of events at Fulham Palace again.

Crisis and Green Spaces

This blog was kindly written by Lee Copeland, one of our Front of House volunteers, Events assistants and Front of house rep.

During May when we are all enjoying the start of Spring and the First-Ever Green Meet Day was held at the Palace, at which we enjoyed many mentions of Bishop Compton and his great collection of over 1000 species of plants, the fascinating talks from the speakers on the day, from the, When, Where and best way to plant trees to Biodiversity and how we can get involved, to all things Bees, and learning we lead the way in Rooftop meadows, it led me to think how many of the Bishops of London before played their part in our green open spaces. How the past compares to the current Pandemic and why Green Spaces have always played an important role in our lives during Crisis.

We know Bishop Tait is responsible for the William Butterfield designed Chapel at Fulham Palace. He suffered much sadness in his life and lost many family members  In 1856, within five weeks, five of his nine children died due to virulent scarlet fever. Two were spared and in time they were joined by another two siblings. His translation to Canterbury in 1868 (he had refused the archbishopric of York in 1862) constituted recognition of his work. His last years were interrupted by illness and saddened by the death in 1878 of his only son, Craufurd (1848–1878), and of his wife, Catharine née Spooner (1819–1878).

Bishop Tait

Scarlet Fever, which took many lives, is a disease resulting from a group A streptococcus (group A strep) infection, also known as Streptococcus pyogenes. The signs and symptoms include a sore throat, fever, headaches, swollen lymph nodes, and a characteristic rash. The rash is red and feels like sandpaper and the tongue may be red and bumpy. It most commonly affects children between five and 15 years of age.

Prevention is by frequent handwashing, not sharing personal items, and staying away from other people when sick. The disease is treatable with antibiotics, which prevent most complications. Outcomes with scarlet fever are typically good if treated. Long-term complications as a result of scarlet fever include kidney disease, rheumatic heart disease, and arthritis. In the early 20th century, before antibiotics were available, it was a leading cause of death in children. An antitoxin was produced before antibiotics; however, it was never made in sufficient quantities, and could not be used to treat any other disease as antibiotics can.

How interesting to compare our need for Green Open spaces today with the time of Bishop Tait and Scarlet fever and when he became Archbishop of Canterbury in 1869 and moved to what is now Lambeth Palace which has been the London residence of the Archbishops of Canterbury since the 13th-century. The Bishop of Carlisle held adjacent land that was then incorporated into Lambeth Palace.

When Archibald Campbell Tait became Archbishop he was greatly concerned about the welfare of the poor in London and opened some 9 acres of the palace gardens (being the land formerly owned by the Bishop of Carlisle) for the benefit of the local poor. That area of land became known as Lambeth Palace Field. It continued to be used by the public after Tait's death in 1882, but without any permanent rights to do so. A permanent public park was first proposed in 1898 by Lt-Col Charles Ford, a Progressive member of the London County Council (1892-1901). In 1900 the Metropolitan Public Gardens Association then led a campaign for the permanent and unrestricted opening of Lambeth Palace Field. This was successful, and Archbishop's Park was laid out with lawns, a playground and sports fields, surrounded by boundary trees, and was opened in 1901.

In response to the concern that the area was now densely populated yet had no formal recreation grounds, Archbishop Temple gifted much of the Lambeth Palace parkland to the people of Lambeth. And in 1904 Archbishop Temple’s Secondary School opened.

Just as during Archbishop Tait's time of crisis when he understood the need for fresh air, green open spaces for health and wellbeing, we also understand and campaign for our Green Open Spaces during this time of crisis, to safeguard them for future generations.

Volunteering as a security guard in Lockdown

This blog post was kindly written by Alexander Ogilvie-Graham, a regular front of house volunteer at Fulham Palace.

Volunteering in March 2021 we are at the end of our third Lockdown. It feels to me that I have had training times 10 as a security in a pandemic.   There is more than meets the eye. It can be tiring being constantly vigilant yet I was proud to be there for the palace during the lockdown 

I think that Fulham palace is a hidden gem. This Cottage is the icing on the cake and reminds me of the Halloween film from Hocas pocas. 

I am here at the entrance of the beautiful cottage with my two old Flatmate’s. 

It is a skeleton staff during lockdown. It was just me my career and the on-site manager. It was a brilliant role that Rachel Bagnall Bray created. 

Over the 2020  lockdown, Fulham palace became vital to my mental health because of the daily walks in the walled garden. Fulham palace became a home from home. 

Every Sunday for two months it would become routine to waltz to the palace for my shift. In Lockdown the shift kept me alive and focused. 

Benji Simpson and I patrolling the beautiful gardens in Lockdown. 
Volunteering on Sundays and doing my general sweeping of the Grounds and the gardens. 

During Lockdown 3.0 our shifts were now 2.3 half hours. My afternoon shift would start at 2.30 and finish at 5 pm. I signed up for 2 months every Sunday for volunteering at the palace. 

It was a lifesaver during the last lockdown to be outside in the gardens. Or patrolling around the palace. Field marshal marshalling in the field. It was a gift from the hand of god to still feeling valuable in a time of crisis.  Overall it was a privilege to guard the museum and to be there in its hour of need. 

Focus and Facts: Richard Vaughan - Bishop of London 1604-1607.

Richard Vaughan

A portrait of Richard Vaughan, with that charming old-timey font: ‘RICARDVS VAVGHANVS’

Vaughan was born in Wales circa 1550, but the precise date is unknown. He died in London in 1607.

He was educated at St John's College, Cambridge, where he graduated BA in 1574 and MA in 1577. After he earned Doctor of Divinity in 1589, he became chaplain to John Aylmer (Bishop of London from 1577 - 94). Vaughan also assisted William Morgan, Bishop of Llandaff and St Asaph, in the first version of the translation of the Bible into Welsh from Greek and Hebrew, published in 1588.

Portrait of William Morgan

From 1578 to 1580, Vaughan was rector of Chipping Ongar. He became Bishop of Bangor in 1592 and, five years later, Bishop of Chester. King James VI promoted him to Bishopric of London on December 8, 1604. His enthronement took place on December 26 of the same year. Enthronements are most popular in religious settings, as a chair is seen as the symbol of the authority to teach. Therefore, in Christianity, bishops of almost all denominations have a ceremony of enthronement as part of their inauguration.

Vaughan’s views were Calvinist. Calvinism is a major branch of Protestantism that follows the theological tradition and forms of Christian practise set down by John Calvin and other reformation era theologians. As Bishop of London, Vaughan was generally sympathetic to moderate Puritan clergy but did take action in suspending Stephen Egerton - an English Priest and leading Puritan preacher of his time. Vaughan’s role as Bishop of London proved to be a short one; he died on March 30, 1607.

But his life was rich and varied. Vaughan had married Jane Bewers, on June 25, 1581, at Great Dunmow, Essex. The lucky couple had nine children! Which brought forth some notable descendants:

Vaughan is a ninth-great-grandfather of singer/actress Judy Garland (1922-1969).

A publicity shot of Judy Garland in the Wizard of Oz (1939)

Vaughan’s great-grandson, Henry Batte, emigrated to Prince George County, Virginia. Batte's great-great-grandson, Richard Baugh, was the great-great-grandfather of Garland's father, Frank Gumm (1886-1935).

Vaughan himself was a ninth-great-grandson of King Edward I of England through his daughter Eleanor.

Many thanks to Lee Copeland – front of house, events and tour guide volunteer - for providing such thorough research.

Object of the Month - Tour of the stables at Fulham Palace

A special tour by my fantastic manager Rachel Bagnall-Bray at Fulham Palace

Front of house volunteer Alexander Ogilvie-Graham’s pair of blog entries both explore hidden objects that carry interesting pieces of the past within them. March object of the month is also about behind the scenes finds!

Every month, we post two pieces by volunteers - one focuses on an object in the Palace and the other on a specimen in the garden. It is a great way to research something that has always interested you and dig into the history of the site, and share your interests with your fellow volunteers. There is no set format so the piece can take the form of creative writing, a reflection, a poem - or anything else!

My tour took place on February 18th, 2021 at 1pm in the afternoon. I was really looking forward to this tour of the barns because it had a multi-purpose facility. 

I was a lucky devil indeed as during Lockdown most museums are closed. Yet on the 18th of February 2021, I find myself holding clay pipes from as old as the 1840s to even older time periods. The oldest clay pipe stretched as far back to 1580 which is defiantly older than I am. 

Is it a monkeys head or a Lion? 

During the third lockdown I was a volunteer field marshal like a security guard. It was Rachel’s idea and it became so popular among the volunteers. I held the post every Sunday during the whole month.

In 2021 we hope that most museums will bounce back better after the lockdowns. The tour of the barns was really inspiring as it showed Rachel on top form. She actually killed the tour of the barn. 

I had been lucky enough to have done some mud lurking last some with my team leader Alexis Haslam and now I was with this Angel Rachel doing a tad of Archaeology with her in a grade 2 listed barn. 

Here I am looking like an archaeologist glancing at some medieval potter that was found along the shores of Fulham Palace. 

Here Rachel and I are trying on some funky hats. Keeping it cool at Fulham Palace. It’s all about the glitter and gold. 

I liked the view of this window of Fulham palace. Are we in the city or in the country? Behind the scenes have their perks. 

It was a privilege to have a special behind the scenes tour of the barns / the manager offices and have a thimble around the archaeology storage room

The star of Fulham palace in Lockdown is my manager Rachael Bagnall-Bray who has managed the palace and of course Edmund. She did a wicked reading of the new book about Edmund which is a must see. 

Overall all it’s not every day I have a kindred spirit as a manager. Even as I was digging around with the Clay Pipes and comparing them to which century they were. I was thinking about reaching for the stars.

Add Astral

Thank you Alexander for this fantastic blog post! :)