SINODUN HILL AND DORCHESTER
The island near Day's Lock, lying beneath the Wittenham Woods and
Sinodun Hill, is particularly well kept and neat, and, in summer,
bright with flowers. Standing on the end of the lock-keeper's island
you can look straight up the weir, below which the river drifts away on
each side of the island.
On the right bank, raised slightly above the river, is the church of
Little Wittenham, with a long, narrow bastion turret adhering to its
tower. Inside there is a handsome monument, one of those legacies from
the ages that prove long descent. A warm belt of Scotch firs grows
near.
Wittenham Woods lie under the shelter of the hill and close to the
life-giving water. The trees grow well and form a home for countless
birds of all kinds. "The hobby breeds there yearly. The wild
pheasant, crow, sparrowhawk, kestrel, magpie, jay, ring-dove, brown
owl, water-hen (on the river-bounded side); in summer the cuckoo and
turtle-dove are all found there, and, with the exception of the pigeons
and kestrels, which seek their food at a distance during the day, they
seldom leave the shelter of its trees."--_C. J. Cornish._
[Illustration: COTTAGES, DORCHESTER]
Sinodun Hill, and its companion, Harp Hill, which is as like it as
one twin to another, are sometimes called Wittenham Clumps. They are
remarkable and conspicuous objects, rising abruptly and evenly from a
very flat district, and they can be seen from many miles around, and,
what is more curious, can be recognised. The smooth, rounded cone is so
symmetrical that, whichever way you look at it, it seems the same, not
changing its shape in the bewildering way of most hills; and the clump
of trees placed so exactly on its crown is an unfailing river-mark.
Sinodun is about 250 feet in height, and on it is a British earthwork,
a triple line of entrenchment, with vallum and foss all round. The
circumference of this on the outside is about a mile. Harp Hill has
on it a tumulus called Brightwell Barrow. Then down below, close to
Dorchester, is a double line of earthworks, much mutilated, but quite
noticeable. No one knows the origin of these defences, which date far
back into unhistorical days. Those on Sinodun are called British, while
the others are supposed to be Roman. Roman camps were nearly always
square, while British followed the windings of the hill.
Dorchester, with its cornfields and trees, its vegetable gardens,
and its old houses bowed this way and that, is a very unsophisticated
little place. The deep quiet of its village street, where the cottages
glow all hues in the sunlight, from deep red ochre to egg-colour,
brooded over by the long-backed abbey church, is a rest-cure in itself.
The great yew trees, the pretty lych-gate, the old wooden porch,
are all just what one would expect to find. Dorchester is not on the
Thames, yet belongs to it certainly, for the Thame, which combines
with the Isis to form the Thames, flows past it. As its name proclaims,
Dorchester was once a Roman camp. Numerous Roman coins have been found
in the neighbourhood, and a Roman altar. It was also the seat of one of
the first and largest bishoprics in England.
In 634 a monk of the order of St. Benedict, named Birinus, crossed
to Britain to follow in the steps of St. Augustine and work as a
missionary among the men of Wessex. He landed safely, and came to this
part of the country, then in Wessex, which at that time stretched north
of the Thames, though afterwards, when Mercia's power became great
under King Offa, Dorchester fell within that kingdom. Birinus preached
with so much effect that the King conferred upon him the office of
bishop and gave him Dorchester for his residence. He died in 650 and
was buried in his own church, though it is said his body was afterwards
moved to Winchester.
[Illustration: WHITE HART HOTEL, DORCHESTER]
The early bishopric was vast. It included what in our own day are
the Sees of Bath and Wells, Exeter, Hereford, Lichfield, Lincoln,
Salisbury, Worcester, and Winchester. There must have been a church in
some degree adequate to the importance of such a charge, but it was
probably of wood; in any case, nothing remains of it, though certain
indications seem to show that it stood on the same site as the present
one.
Dorchester was an important city, but its glory did not long remain,
and the bishopric was ultimately split up into many Sees. In 1085 the
seat of the See of Mercia was transferred to Lincoln. The abbey was
founded here in 1140 for Augustinian monks, and it is the monks' church
which still in great part exists. The long nave, with its red roof,
is seen easily from the river, but the tower appears rather inadequate
in height. On approaching, however, it is found to be of massive work.
The interior of the church is wide and high, and gives that impression
of bareness which is consistent with Norman work. In the east window
is a great pier or transom which is supposed to have been originally
intended as the support for a groined roof. The north chancel window
is the famous Jesse window, with carved tracery, carrying figures all
the way up the numerous branches. The lowest is that of Jesse, from
whom spring all the subsequent ones. Very few figures are missing,
considering the age of the window, and the carving is remarkably
interesting. It is supposed that the figures of the Virgin and Child
were at one time above that of the patriarch, but were removed at the
Reformation. The rich green glass in the sedilia on the other side of
the chancel should be noted. It is unusual to see sedilia pierced.
Two of the nave arches are plain Norman work. A rood door remains,
and there are one or two handsome altar tombs; also a leaden font,
well moulded, and, on the east wall of the south aisle, there are some
remains of frescoes. Close to the porch outside is a graceful shaft
with a "restored" head.
The Thame we have already spoken of. Its arching trees and corners,
and deep shady alleys, make it a delightful place for an idler. It runs
close by the abbey church.
[Illustration: DORCHESTER BACKWATER]
In the river near Dorchester grow the sweet sedge and the amphibious
yellow cress, and on the banks may be found the blue pimpernel.
[Illustration]