11th May 1941

Slightly warmer today. Went over to Lawford for lunch, and had a wonderful feed. Cream. Then went up to Birchett’s Wood, saw Penelope and heard all about the pony’s habits, which are entirely Penelope’s own fault. She is wonderfully pretty, and her little nervous stammer is so very fascinating.

Had tea there, cleaned the harness and then went down to Dedham. The Sissons were out, so I went round by Stratford and called at Ida Hughes-Stanton’s. Poor Ida, the place is really very squalid, in spite of the wonderful art treasures it contains. Perhaps it is really very like it was 400 years ago – beauty, and a lot of smell.

Lot of cloud, but no rain, which is very much needed.

While I was at Lawford, it suddently occurred to me to walk across the road, climb the hill, and see the tumulus and the high point overlooking the Stour. When I got there, I was surprised to find that it had been cut into by a wide trench running right across it. I cannot understand this, as I know of no records of its opening. Can this be the actual site of the Bronze Age Urn given [to Colchester Museum] by Mrs. Nichols of Lawford Hall and said to have been found at Mistley? I remember writing to her about it some years ago, but cannot remember exactly what she said. The matter is of great importance, especially as the Home Guard intend to make a “strong point” on the site (they have already pegged it out) and may find secondary interments. The Parringtons promised to keep me informed.

The tumulus that EJR visited at Lawford is a Neolithic - Bronze Age Round Barrow, which had been excavated in 1812 when two urns were discovered.

2 comments:

Parkmanto said...

Interesting information here about the Tumulus and the numerous vists to Lawford.

E J Rudsdale said...

Thank you for your comment - I'm glad to hear that this diary extract about the Lawford Tumulus and E.J. Rudsdale's visits to Lawford have been of interest. Best wishes, CP