Ewelme Things to Do Tips by easyoar

The Elaborate Font Cover

The Font itself was built at the same time as the church, so it is over 550 years old. It is octagonal in shape and it fairly unusual. (Note:- A font is a Christian device that is basically a big sink. A person joining the Christian faith - typically a baby is immersed into this 'sink' as part of the joining process).

The Font Cover itself is similar to a very famous font cover in Ufford (Suffolk). It is over 3 metres tall and is ornately carved of wood. It is not supposed to be quite as good as the one in Ufford, Suffolk (you will remember that the Duchess Alice was married to the Duke of Suffolk - William de la Pole).

This font cover has been restored in the past, and anyone visiting is asked not to touch it.

Address: Ewelme Church in Oxfordshire

Directions: Ewelme is just off the A4074 between Reading and Oxford.

A Gargoyle on Ewelme Church

This is a Gargoyle on Ewelme Church. The word Gargoyle itself is related to the word Gargle (the thing you do when you take a liquid into your throat and slowly blow air through it before spitting the liquid out). This in turn comes from 'gargouille', which is an old French word that means 'Throat'.

A real gargoyle is a waterspout and is used to channel water off the roof of a building (typically a church). They are normally carved as unusual (and ugly) creatures. Sometimes you get these same creatures appearing on a roof that do not actually channel water at all, and are pretend gargoyles. These are correctly known as 'Grotesques'.

There are several Gargoyles on Ewelme church, and this one is obviously a real gargoyle as it has a water spout built into it!

Address: Ewelme Church in Oxfordshire

Directions: Ewelme is just off the A4074 between Reading and Oxford.

The Chaucer Tomb

This is the tomb of Thomas Chaucer (who was the son of the notable poet - Geoffrey Chaucer) and his wife Mathilda Burghersh. Thomas died in 1434 and his wife in 1436.

Thomas must have been quite an important person, as not only did he have an important father, but his mother's sister was married to John of Gaunt (who was the son of King Edward III).

This picture shows the top of the tomb, with the brasses of Thomas and his wife. Thomas is in armour. You can also see a framed picture containing the Chaucer family tree that is leaning on the tomb.

Address: Ewelme Church in Oxfordshire

Directions: Ewelme is just off the A4074 between Reading and Oxford.

Ewelme's School

As with a lot of the buildings in Ewelme, this is pretty old! It is thought it was built just after the Almshouses and church were finished around 1450. It is supposed to be one of the oldest schools in the country that is in the state system. It has probably taught children almost continuously for over 500 years!

The school doors are quite impressive and were originally the doors on the church. They date from the 15th century.

I don't know how many children it can actually hold (it can't be many), but as Ewelme is so small, it probably doesn't need to hold too many!

Address: Ewelme in Oxfordshire

Directions: Ewelme is just off the A4074 between Reading and Oxford.

The outside of the Almshouses

Seeing the Almshouses from the outside gives a better idea of just how old they are (over 550 years old!).

If you enlarge the picture and look at the door way that is inbetween the two bushes, you can see the two horseshoes that I talk about in my Local customs tip. This doorway is actually a passageway in to the cloister.

These almshouses were all originally thatched (that is to say that the roof was made of straw). As thatch needs replacing approximately every 30 years or so, you will see that they are now tiled (which lasts a lot longer).

Address: Ewelme in Oxfordshire

Directions: Ewelme is just off the A4074 between Reading and Oxford.

The Almshouses, Cloister and the Church

Almshouses are traditionally houses that are built by a rich person for the poor or old to live in. I think the idea was that the rich person is seen to be helping out the poor and needy.

These Almshouses were built by Duchess Alice and her husband William de la Pole (Duke of Suffolk) around 1437. There are 13 houses all built around the square cloister. They don't look that big and I understand that they only have 2 rooms, although I have no idea who lives in them today. It is possible to walk out of them around the cloister and into the church via a flight of steps with a roof over your head the whole time.

This photo shows the inner cloister which has an open square in the middle. The chirch van be seen behind them.

Address: Ewelme in Oxfordshire

Directions: Ewelme is just off the A4074 between Reading and Oxford.

Ewelme's Waterfall

I would have completely missed this waterfall (well perhaps that is rather a grand word for it) if it had not been for a local resident seeing me brandishing a camera and insisting he show me Ewelme's Waterfall.

Well here it is, it's not the biggest I have ever seen, but apparently there is a Kingfisher that nests in the shrubs to the left of it. The local proudly showed me a stick they had placed in the water for the kingfisher to land on as it went in and out from its nest. Kingfishers are very shy birds and you normally only see a flash of blue and red as they whizz past. Unfortunately I didn't get to see it... It's nice to see locals so enthusiastic about their home villages!

Address: Ewelme in Oxfordshire

Directions: Ewelme is just off the A4074 between Reading and Oxford.

The Watercress Beds

Ewelme used to be famous for its watercress beds. They still exist today, but I think they struggle to rival the larger commercial farms.

Watercress beds are typically shallow gravel based compartments with water running through them quite slowly and the water needs to be relatively warm. This is achieved in Ewelme by building frames in the stream. The faster water flows past the outside of the frame, and a smallish entrance into the stream prevents too much water flowing through fast. This is not an intensive production, hopefully this means the beds can support a large number of invertebrate giving food for ducks, wading birds and water shrews.

Address: Ewelme in Oxfordshire

The Duckpond

This duckpond is easy to find. Ewelme is so small, you can easily walk all round it in rather a short space of time.

It's a very traditional style of duckpond, but is quite rare to find these days. The water is very shallow and very clean looking. I could only see one duck when we visited, but there are probably more! Depth wise, I would say it is little deeper than a childrens paddling pool, although it is not intended for human use!

It's a shame these sorts of features seem to be dying out of English towns, certainly in the South of England.

Address: Ewelme in Oxfordshire

Directions: Quite close to Wallingford

The Whole of Duchess Alice's Tomb

In case you are a little perplexed by what I was going on about in my previous two tips, this is the whole of the tomb of Duchess Alice.

The reclining figure can be seen lying across the top. Under that you can see the ornate chest type part in which hr body was placed. Then if you enlarge the picture, you will be able to see the grille type design at the bottom through which you can see the 'dead' statue of the duchess if you lie on the floor.

This tomb is at the far end of the church from where you enter. It is just to the right of the altar as you look up the aisle.

Address: St Mary's Church, Ewelme

Directions: St Mary's Church, Ewelme is in the centre of the village