Plaxtol Parish Church, Plaxtol, Kent
There are between 50 and 60 butterflies in the UK and Ireland, some are more common than others, and of the rarer species, some like to bask, while others play hard to get.
Or see.
Of the latter is the Purple Emperor, which emerges for a few weeks in high summer, spending most of its time in the tree tops of sallow trees feeding on aphid honeydew.
But sometimes males come down to ground, so can be snapped. Over the years, various lures or substances, mostly fish-derived, have been tried to lure the butterflies down. And last week, a friend tried his brew, named "butterfly juice", and got at least two males to land in the car park of a country park and stay for over 15 minutes.
As that was just two days before, I said I would go up, and Billy armed with a new batch of juice would meet up and we hoped that the weather would play ball.
This meant having to get up promptly, get to Tesco, have breakfast and be out before half eight to travel to west Kent to be there to meet Billy.
We had a load of stuff to get at Tesco, so took a half hour to get round, spending what seems like a king's ransom for a week's provisions and supplies.
Jools decided to download Windows 11, but the final stage created a loop of requests, so she had to go into town to drop it off to be fixed, but said she was happy for me to go on my own to chase butterflies.
The forecast had not mentioned rain, or strong winds, but it seems no one told the weather.
Travelling up the M20, I went through two heavy showers, and when I got to the park, the ground was wet for another recent shower.
I met up with another snapper, Mike, and he showed me where the tree was near the car park where the males had come down from on Thursday.
It was cool, breezy and of the Emperor there was no sign.
We wandered round the meadows surrounding the trees, and found Meadow Browns, Ringlets and Gatekeepers, and when the sun came out, a single Silver Washed Fritillary and a White Admiral were seen, though only at a distance.
Billy arrived at 11, and dropped the juice, on the ground where he had on Thursday.
The strong winds blew clouds across the sky, brief periods of blue sky brought sunshine and clouds of brown butterflies.
A while later, we set off on the circular walk which shortly brought us to another of the hotspots, the cross roads of four tracks with hogweed in the centre, perfect for snapping basking butterflies and sever White Legged Damselflies, an uncommon species, but frequently seen here.
The sun came out, so I stayed there while the others walked off. So it was that I was buzzed by a single Purple Emperor, the only sighting of the day, as it swooped past me, the upper winds reflected bright purple. I swung round, but it was gone.
And that was that.
And then the rain came.
I had gone to meet with the others, so we had to shelter for twenty minutes under a tree, while day turned to night and the rain hammered down.
The sun came out and brought brilliant bright light, so we walked back to the car park, I waited half an hour more to see if the sun would come back.
It didn't.
So, I said goodbye and began to long drive back home.
Before leaving home I had checked the area for churches, and two sprung up: Shipbourne and Plaxtol, both were either on the road back home, or just off it.
Shipbourne is a small village set round a large area of grass that I guess was, and maybe still is, common grazing land. It is now a destination for dogwalkers judging by the cars, but of the church there was no sign.
I took the road north, came to to the edge of the village and there was still no church. I turned round and went back, and over the tree tops I could see the tower of the church. Back by the village pub, and behind it, was the church, accessible via a short lane with parking spaces.
I drove in, parked up grabbed all my camera gear and walked to the lych gate. A walker held it open for me, the church rose close the other side, reaching for the skies.
Along the path, I came to the porch with its very welcoming sign saying "church open".
St Giles, the current one, is at least the third church on the site, and when built at the end of the 19th century, the 18th century one was demolished along with the village pub. Leaving what we see now, a fine Victorian church, with just the one surviving memorial from the previous building, and filled with good Victorian glass and light.
A short drive away, on a sharp bend, a sign points to Plaxtol. A small village but with a church and a new one for me.
The church has no dedication, as it was built during Cromwell's Commonwealth, so is austere and without much decoration, and is remarkably untouched.
I find a place to park outside, the small village square with the war memorial just in front, and behind, a fine row of Kentish cottages, all with white clapboarding. Of which I should have taken a shot of.
On the way up, there was a queue of six miles of trucks for the port, so I drove back along the Alkham Valley, through River and up Whitfield Hill, getting back just before three, in time for a brew.
I had some cheese and crackers and a brew, as Jools had already eaten.
Then at five the football: England v Switzerland.
Two evenly matched teams, that cancelled each other out. Ten minutes to go, the Swiss scored thanks to a defensive lapse, and it all looked lost. But 5 minutes later, Saka cut in from the right and curled a shot into the far corner to level things.
It stayed that was to the end of normal time, and extra time, which meant penalties.
I had used the BBC i player to watch the BBC whilst listening to the commentary from Radio 5, this is usually a few seconds behind the actual TV feed, but a technical issue meant it was closer to two minutes. Which meant when the winning penalty went in in real time, our TV was two penalties behind, so heard the cheers from Bev and Steve next door. And I was watching the feed from the BBC website, which meant I knew when a penalty was missed or not.
Long gone are the days when this would have meant a defeat, so it was England scored all five of theirs, but the Swiss missed their first, so Trent Alexander Arnold hammered the winning spot kick to send England into the semi finals.
Almost straight away the last quarter final, Netherlands v Türkiye kicked off, and a great game it was, end to end stuff with lots of shots.
The Turks scored and looked like they would cling on, but two goals in five minutes in the last quarter put the Oranj armie through to play England on Wednesday.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Although there is no record of a medieval church here, the present building which dates from 1649 may stand on an early site. It is unusual to find a church of the Commonwealth period and for this reason it is not dedicated to a particular saint. Although the basic hall church remains much rebuilding took place in the nineteenth century, giving the building a strangely urban feel. This is not helped by the fact that it is constructed of regular ragstone blocks which are galletted. The interior is now much lighter than the Victorians left it as war damage has removed most of the stained glass. The main feature of the interior is the hammerbeam roof, painted blue and more practical than decorative, and there is also some foreign wood carving incorporated in the reredos and pulpit
www.kentchurches.info/church.asp?p=Plaxtol
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Plaxtol Parish Church is one of very few churches built in the Cromwellian period - sometimes called 'The Republic' or 'The Commonwealth' - between the end of the Civil War (1651) and the Restoration of the Monarchy (1660). As such, it has no patron saint or other doctrinal title. The rather plain, puritan box-like structure was developed in the Tractarian style of the late Victorian era, adding transepts, and a riased chancel and sanctuary. A recent appeal and re-ordering is enabling the introduction of toilets and a kitchenette at the base of the tower, and more versatile and comfortable space. We hope and pray that this will help the church to make the most of its geographical setting in the centre of the village, and to fulfill is calling to be an inclusive and special place at the heart of the community.
www.achurchnearyou.com/church/16927/about-us/
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
THE CHAPEL OF PLAXTOOL stands at the west end of the village. It was without any fixed establishment for the maintenance of a minister, or for the repairs of the building itself; and the vicar of Wrotham not being obliged to find a curate, divine service was very seldom, or at least, very irregularly performed in it. To remedy which, Mr. Thomas Stanley, gent. of Hamptons, in 1638, conveyed to Sir Henry Vane, and four other feoffees, a house and two acres of land, valued at upwards of seven pounds per annum, for the use and support of the curate, upon condition that the inhabitants of it should raise the sum of eight pounds annnally for the like purpose; in default of which, or the service of the chapel ceasing, the bequest was to revert to the heirs of the donor.
In the year 1647, an ordinance of parliament passed, to divide this district from the parish of Wrotham, and by it a collection was directed to be made throughout this county towards erecting a parochial church here, and establishing a congregation proportionable to it. In consequence of which the present chapel was erected in 1648, which by an inscription at the east end of it, is said to have been built at the charge of the inhabitants of Hale and Roughway boroughs; but this ordinance being rendered of no effect at the restoration, Plaxtool became again united to Wrotham, and remains so at this time. After which the inhabitants refusing to comply with Mr. Stanley's terms of contributing towards the support of a minister, the vicar of Wrotham allowed a salary of twenty pounds towards it; but Mr. Dalison (whose ancestor had married Mr. Stanley's sole daughter and heir) insisting that as the addition was not made by the inhabitants, the proviso in his bequest was not complied with, and that it reverted to him as heir to the donor; a trial at law was had, when it being determined that the intent of the donor was fully answered, in the sum being given by any person whatsoever, a decree was made for the future payment of it.
This curacy has since been augmented with two hundred pounds from queen Anne's bounty. The curate of it enjoys Mr. Stanley's gift to it, besides a very handsome and adequate salary from the vicar of Wrotham, who appoints the curate from time to time. The present curate is Mr. Thomas Dalison.
There was a house and land, worth about twelve pounds per annum, given by one of the Miller family, which continued to be enjoyed by the curate of Plaxtool, who resided at it till about the year 1750; when, upon some dispute with the vicar of Wrotham on the nominating a person to this curacy, it was withdrawn by Leonard Bartholomew, esq. of Oxenhoath, and has been with-held ever since.
Plaxtol Parish Church, Plaxtol, Kent
There are between 50 and 60 butterflies in the UK and Ireland, some are more common than others, and of the rarer species, some like to bask, while others play hard to get.
Or see.
Of the latter is the Purple Emperor, which emerges for a few weeks in high summer, spending most of its time in the tree tops of sallow trees feeding on aphid honeydew.
But sometimes males come down to ground, so can be snapped. Over the years, various lures or substances, mostly fish-derived, have been tried to lure the butterflies down. And last week, a friend tried his brew, named "butterfly juice", and got at least two males to land in the car park of a country park and stay for over 15 minutes.
As that was just two days before, I said I would go up, and Billy armed with a new batch of juice would meet up and we hoped that the weather would play ball.
This meant having to get up promptly, get to Tesco, have breakfast and be out before half eight to travel to west Kent to be there to meet Billy.
We had a load of stuff to get at Tesco, so took a half hour to get round, spending what seems like a king's ransom for a week's provisions and supplies.
Jools decided to download Windows 11, but the final stage created a loop of requests, so she had to go into town to drop it off to be fixed, but said she was happy for me to go on my own to chase butterflies.
The forecast had not mentioned rain, or strong winds, but it seems no one told the weather.
Travelling up the M20, I went through two heavy showers, and when I got to the park, the ground was wet for another recent shower.
I met up with another snapper, Mike, and he showed me where the tree was near the car park where the males had come down from on Thursday.
It was cool, breezy and of the Emperor there was no sign.
We wandered round the meadows surrounding the trees, and found Meadow Browns, Ringlets and Gatekeepers, and when the sun came out, a single Silver Washed Fritillary and a White Admiral were seen, though only at a distance.
Billy arrived at 11, and dropped the juice, on the ground where he had on Thursday.
The strong winds blew clouds across the sky, brief periods of blue sky brought sunshine and clouds of brown butterflies.
A while later, we set off on the circular walk which shortly brought us to another of the hotspots, the cross roads of four tracks with hogweed in the centre, perfect for snapping basking butterflies and sever White Legged Damselflies, an uncommon species, but frequently seen here.
The sun came out, so I stayed there while the others walked off. So it was that I was buzzed by a single Purple Emperor, the only sighting of the day, as it swooped past me, the upper winds reflected bright purple. I swung round, but it was gone.
And that was that.
And then the rain came.
I had gone to meet with the others, so we had to shelter for twenty minutes under a tree, while day turned to night and the rain hammered down.
The sun came out and brought brilliant bright light, so we walked back to the car park, I waited half an hour more to see if the sun would come back.
It didn't.
So, I said goodbye and began to long drive back home.
Before leaving home I had checked the area for churches, and two sprung up: Shipbourne and Plaxtol, both were either on the road back home, or just off it.
Shipbourne is a small village set round a large area of grass that I guess was, and maybe still is, common grazing land. It is now a destination for dogwalkers judging by the cars, but of the church there was no sign.
I took the road north, came to to the edge of the village and there was still no church. I turned round and went back, and over the tree tops I could see the tower of the church. Back by the village pub, and behind it, was the church, accessible via a short lane with parking spaces.
I drove in, parked up grabbed all my camera gear and walked to the lych gate. A walker held it open for me, the church rose close the other side, reaching for the skies.
Along the path, I came to the porch with its very welcoming sign saying "church open".
St Giles, the current one, is at least the third church on the site, and when built at the end of the 19th century, the 18th century one was demolished along with the village pub. Leaving what we see now, a fine Victorian church, with just the one surviving memorial from the previous building, and filled with good Victorian glass and light.
A short drive away, on a sharp bend, a sign points to Plaxtol. A small village but with a church and a new one for me.
The church has no dedication, as it was built during Cromwell's Commonwealth, so is austere and without much decoration, and is remarkably untouched.
I find a place to park outside, the small village square with the war memorial just in front, and behind, a fine row of Kentish cottages, all with white clapboarding. Of which I should have taken a shot of.
On the way up, there was a queue of six miles of trucks for the port, so I drove back along the Alkham Valley, through River and up Whitfield Hill, getting back just before three, in time for a brew.
I had some cheese and crackers and a brew, as Jools had already eaten.
Then at five the football: England v Switzerland.
Two evenly matched teams, that cancelled each other out. Ten minutes to go, the Swiss scored thanks to a defensive lapse, and it all looked lost. But 5 minutes later, Saka cut in from the right and curled a shot into the far corner to level things.
It stayed that was to the end of normal time, and extra time, which meant penalties.
I had used the BBC i player to watch the BBC whilst listening to the commentary from Radio 5, this is usually a few seconds behind the actual TV feed, but a technical issue meant it was closer to two minutes. Which meant when the winning penalty went in in real time, our TV was two penalties behind, so heard the cheers from Bev and Steve next door. And I was watching the feed from the BBC website, which meant I knew when a penalty was missed or not.
Long gone are the days when this would have meant a defeat, so it was England scored all five of theirs, but the Swiss missed their first, so Trent Alexander Arnold hammered the winning spot kick to send England into the semi finals.
Almost straight away the last quarter final, Netherlands v Türkiye kicked off, and a great game it was, end to end stuff with lots of shots.
The Turks scored and looked like they would cling on, but two goals in five minutes in the last quarter put the Oranj armie through to play England on Wednesday.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Although there is no record of a medieval church here, the present building which dates from 1649 may stand on an early site. It is unusual to find a church of the Commonwealth period and for this reason it is not dedicated to a particular saint. Although the basic hall church remains much rebuilding took place in the nineteenth century, giving the building a strangely urban feel. This is not helped by the fact that it is constructed of regular ragstone blocks which are galletted. The interior is now much lighter than the Victorians left it as war damage has removed most of the stained glass. The main feature of the interior is the hammerbeam roof, painted blue and more practical than decorative, and there is also some foreign wood carving incorporated in the reredos and pulpit
www.kentchurches.info/church.asp?p=Plaxtol
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Plaxtol Parish Church is one of very few churches built in the Cromwellian period - sometimes called 'The Republic' or 'The Commonwealth' - between the end of the Civil War (1651) and the Restoration of the Monarchy (1660). As such, it has no patron saint or other doctrinal title. The rather plain, puritan box-like structure was developed in the Tractarian style of the late Victorian era, adding transepts, and a riased chancel and sanctuary. A recent appeal and re-ordering is enabling the introduction of toilets and a kitchenette at the base of the tower, and more versatile and comfortable space. We hope and pray that this will help the church to make the most of its geographical setting in the centre of the village, and to fulfill is calling to be an inclusive and special place at the heart of the community.
www.achurchnearyou.com/church/16927/about-us/
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
THE CHAPEL OF PLAXTOOL stands at the west end of the village. It was without any fixed establishment for the maintenance of a minister, or for the repairs of the building itself; and the vicar of Wrotham not being obliged to find a curate, divine service was very seldom, or at least, very irregularly performed in it. To remedy which, Mr. Thomas Stanley, gent. of Hamptons, in 1638, conveyed to Sir Henry Vane, and four other feoffees, a house and two acres of land, valued at upwards of seven pounds per annum, for the use and support of the curate, upon condition that the inhabitants of it should raise the sum of eight pounds annnally for the like purpose; in default of which, or the service of the chapel ceasing, the bequest was to revert to the heirs of the donor.
In the year 1647, an ordinance of parliament passed, to divide this district from the parish of Wrotham, and by it a collection was directed to be made throughout this county towards erecting a parochial church here, and establishing a congregation proportionable to it. In consequence of which the present chapel was erected in 1648, which by an inscription at the east end of it, is said to have been built at the charge of the inhabitants of Hale and Roughway boroughs; but this ordinance being rendered of no effect at the restoration, Plaxtool became again united to Wrotham, and remains so at this time. After which the inhabitants refusing to comply with Mr. Stanley's terms of contributing towards the support of a minister, the vicar of Wrotham allowed a salary of twenty pounds towards it; but Mr. Dalison (whose ancestor had married Mr. Stanley's sole daughter and heir) insisting that as the addition was not made by the inhabitants, the proviso in his bequest was not complied with, and that it reverted to him as heir to the donor; a trial at law was had, when it being determined that the intent of the donor was fully answered, in the sum being given by any person whatsoever, a decree was made for the future payment of it.
This curacy has since been augmented with two hundred pounds from queen Anne's bounty. The curate of it enjoys Mr. Stanley's gift to it, besides a very handsome and adequate salary from the vicar of Wrotham, who appoints the curate from time to time. The present curate is Mr. Thomas Dalison.
There was a house and land, worth about twelve pounds per annum, given by one of the Miller family, which continued to be enjoyed by the curate of Plaxtool, who resided at it till about the year 1750; when, upon some dispute with the vicar of Wrotham on the nominating a person to this curacy, it was withdrawn by Leonard Bartholomew, esq. of Oxenhoath, and has been with-held ever since.