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Thailand - Ayuttaya - Wat Mahathat - 8b by Manfred Sommer

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The Ayutthaya Historical Park (Thai: อุทยานประวัติศาสตร์พระนครศรีอยุธยา (Pronunciation)) covers the ruins of the old city of Ayutthaya, Thailand. The city of Ayutthaya was founded by King Ramathibodi I in 1350:222 The city was captured by the Burmese in 1569; though not pillaged, it lost "many valuable and artistic objects.":42–43 It was the capital of the country until its destruction by the Burmese army in 1767.

In 1969 the Fine Arts Department began with renovations of the ruins, which became more serious after it was declared a historical park in 1976. A part of the park was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1991. Thirty-five kings ruled the Ayutthaya kingdom during its existence. King Narai (1656-1688) held court not only in Ayutthaya but also from his palace in the nearby city of Lopburi, from where he ruled 8–9 months in the year.

PARK SITES

Wat Chaiwatthanaram

Wat Kasatrathiraj

Wat Kudi Dao

Wat Lokayasutharam

Wat Mahathat

Wat Phanan Choeng

Wiharn Phra Mongkhon Bopit

Wat Phra Ram

Wat Phra Sri Sanphet

Wat Ratchaburana, Ayutthaya

Wat Chai Mongkhon

Wat Yai Chai Mongkhon

Phra Chedi Suriyothai

Ayutthaya historical Study Centre

Japanese Settlement

Wat Phu Khao Thong

Elephant Camp

UNESCO WORLD HERITAGE SITE

In 1991, a part of Ayutthaya Historical Park was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site under criteria III as an excellent witness to the period of development of a true national Thai art. The inscribed area covered only 289 ha on central and southwest part of Ayutthaya island; as a result, only certain groups of historical sites are under UNESCO protection. The sites including Wat Ratchaburana, Wat Mahathat, Wat Phra Sri Sanphet, Wat Phra Ram and Wiharn Phra Mongkhon Bopit. The sites that are not part of World Heritage Sites are the sites outside Ayutthaya Island; for example, Wat Yai Chai Mongkon, Wat Phanan Choeng, Wat Chaiwatthanaram and Wat Phu Khao Thong.

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AYUTTHAYA

(/ɑːˈjuːtəjə/; Thai: อยุธยา, Thai pronunciation: [ʔajúttʰajaː]; also spelled Ayudhya) was a Siamese kingdom that existed from 1351 to 1767. Ayutthaya was friendly towards foreign traders, including the Chinese, Vietnamese, Indians, Japanese and Persians, and later the Portuguese, Spaniards, Dutch and French, permitting them to set up villages outside the walls of the capital, also called Ayutthaya.

In the sixteenth century, it was described by foreign traders as one of the biggest and wealthiest cities in the East. The court of King Narai (1656–88) had strong links with that of King Louis XIV of France, whose ambassadors compared the city in size and wealth to Paris.

By 1550, the kingdom's vassals included some city-states in the Malay Peninsula, Sukhothai, and parts of Cambodia.

In foreign accounts, Ayutthaya was called Siam, but many sources say the people of Ayutthaya called themselves Tai, and their kingdom Krung Tai "The Tai country" (กรุงไท).

HISTORICAL OVERVIEW

ORIGINS

According to the most widely accepted version of its origin, the Thai state based at Ayutthaya in the valley of the Chao Phraya River rose from the earlier, nearby Lavo Kingdom (at that time, still under the control of the Khmer Empire) and Suvarnabhumi. One source says that in the mid-fourteenth century, due to the threat of an epidemic, King Uthong moved his court south into the rich floodplain of the Chao Phraya River onto an island surrounded by rivers. The name of the city indicates the influence of Hinduism in the region as it is the Thai pronunciation of the famous Indian city of Ayodhya. It is believed that this city is associated with the Thai national epic, the Ramakien, which is the Thai version of the Ramayana.

CONQUESTS AND EXPANSION

Ayutthaya began its hegemony by conquering northern kingdoms and city-states like Sukhothai,:222 Kamphaeng Phet and Phitsanulok. Before the end of the fifteenth century, Ayutthaya launched attacks on Angkor, the classical great power of the region. Angkor's influence eventually faded from the Chao Phraya River Plain while Ayutthaya became a new great power.

The emerging Kingdom of Ayutthaya was also growing powerful. Relations between the Ayutthaya and Lan Na had worsened since the Ayutthayan support of Thau Choi's rebellion In 1451, Yuttitthira, a noble of the Kingdom of Sukhothai who had conflicts with Borommatrailokkanat of Ayutthaya, gave himself to Tilokaraj. Yuttitthira urged Borommatrailokkanat to invade Phitsanulok, igniting the Ayutthaya-Lan Na War over the Upper Chao Phraya valley (the Kingdom of Sukhothai). In 1460, the governor of Chaliang surrendered to Tilokaraj. Borommatrailokkanat then used a new strategy and concentrated on the wars with Lanna by moving the capital to Phitsanulok. Lan Na suffered setbacks and Tilokaraj eventually sued for peace in 1475.

However, the kingdom of Ayutthaya was not a unified state but rather a patchwork of self-governing principalities and tributary provinces owing allegiance to the king of Ayutthaya under The Circle of Power, or the mandala system, as some scholars suggested. These principalities might be ruled by members of the royal family of Ayutthaya, or by local rulers who had their own independent armies, having a duty to assist the capital when war or invasion occurred. However, it was evident that from time to time local revolts, led by local princes or kings, took place. Ayutthaya had to suppress them.

Due to the lack of succession law and a strong concept of meritocracy, whenever the succession was in dispute, princely governors or powerful dignitaries claiming their merit gathered their forces and moved on the capital to press their claims, culminating in several bloody coups.

Beginning in the fifteenth century, Ayutthaya showed an interest in the Malay Peninsula, but the great trading ports of the Malacca Sultanate contested its claims to sovereignty. Ayutthaya launched several abortive conquests against Malacca which was diplomatically and economically fortified by the military support of Ming China. In the early fifteenth century the Ming admiral Zheng He had established a base of operation in the port city, making it a strategic position the Chinese could not afford to lose to the Siamese. Under this protection, Malacca flourished, becoming one of Ayutthaya's great foes until the capture of Malacca by the Portuguese.

FIRST BURMESE WARS

Starting in the middle of 16th century, the kingdom came under repeated attacks by the Taungoo Dynasty of Burma. The Burmese–Siamese War (1547–49) began with Burmese an invasion and a failed siege of Ayutthaya. A second siege (1563–64) led by King Bayinnaung forced King Maha Chakkraphat to surrender in 1564. The royal family was taken to Bago, Burma, with the king's second son Mahinthrathirat installed as the vassal king. In 1568, Mahinthrathirat revolted when his father managed to return from Bago as a Buddhist monk. The ensuing third siege captured Ayutthaya in 1569 and Bayinnaung made Mahathammarachathirat his vassal king.

After Bayinnaung's death in 1581, uparaja Naresuan proclaimed Ayutthaya's independence in 1584. The Thai fought off repeated Burmese invasions (1584–1593), capped by an elephant duel between King Naresuan and Burmese heir-apparent Mingyi Swa in 1593 during the fourth siege of Ayutthaya in which Naresuan famously slew Mingyi Swa (observed 18 January as Royal Thai Armed Forces day). The Burmese–Siamese War (1594–1605) was a Thai attack on Burma, resulting in the capture of the Tanintharyi Region as far as Mottama in 1595 and Lan Na in 1602. Naresuan even invaded mainland Burma as far as Taungoo in 1600, but was driven back.

After Naresuan's death in 1605, northern Tanintharyi and Lan Na returned to Burmese control in 1614.

The Ayutthaya Kingdom's attempt to take over Lan Na and northern Tanintharyi in 1662–1664 failed.

Foreign trade brought Ayutthaya not only luxury items but also new arms and weapons. In the mid-seventeenth century, during King Narai's reign, Ayutthaya became very prosperous. In the eighteenth century, Ayutthaya gradually lost control over its provinces. Provincial governors exerted their power independently, and rebellions against the capital began.

SECOND BURMESE WARS

In the mid-eighteenth century, Ayutthaya again became ensnared in wars with the Burmese. The Burmese–Siamese War (1759–60) begun by the Konbaung Dynasty of Burma failed. The Burmese–Siamese War (1765–67) resulted in the sack of the city of Ayutthaya and the end of the kingdom by debellatio in April 1767.

KINGSHIP OF AYUTTHAYA KINGDOM

The kings of Ayutthaya were absolute monarchs with semi-religious status. Their authority derived from the ideologies of Hinduism and Buddhism as well as from natural leadership. The king of Sukhothai was the inspiration of Inscription 1 found in Sukhothai, which stated that King Ramkhamhaeng would hear the petition of any subject who rang the bell at the palace gate. The king was thus considered as a father by his people.

At Ayutthaya, however, the paternal aspects of kingship disappeared. The king was considered the chakkraphat (Sanskrit chakravartin) who through his adherence to the law made all the world revolve around him. According to Hindu tradition, the king is the avatar of Vishnu, destroyer of demons, who was born to be the defender of the people. The Buddhist belief in the king is as righteous ruler (Sanskrit: dharmaraja), aiming at the well-being of the people and who strictly follows the teaching of Gautama Buddha.

The kings' official names were reflections of those religions: Hinduism and Buddhism. They were considered as the incarnation of various Hindu gods: Indra, Shiva or Vishnu (Rama). The coronation ceremony was directed by brahmins as the Hindu god Shiva was "lord of the universe". However, according to the codes, the king had the ultimate duty as protector of the people and the annihilator of evil.

According to Buddhism, the king was also believed to be a bodhisattva. One of the most important duties of the king was to build a temple or a Buddha statue as a symbol of prosperity and peace.

For locals, another aspect of the kingship was also the analogy of "The Lord of the Land" or "He who Rules the Earth" (Phra Chao Phaendin). According to the court etiquette, a special language, Rachasap (Sanskrit: Rājāśabda, "Royal Language"), was used to communicate with or about royalty. In Ayutthaya, the king was said to grant control over land to his subjects, from nobles to commoners, according to the Sakna or Sakdina system codified by King Borommatrailokkanat (1448–88). The Sakdina system was similar to, but not the same as feudalism, under which the monarch does not own the land. While there is no concrete evidence that this land management system constituted a formal palace economy, the French François-Timoléon de Choisy, who came to Ayutthaya in 1685, wrote, "the king has absolute power. He is truly the god of the Siamese: no-one dares to utter his name." Another 17th-century writer, the Dutchman Jan van Vliet, remarked that the King of Siam was "honoured and worshipped by his subjects second to god." Laws and orders were issued by the king. For sometimes the king himself was also the highest judge who judged and punished important criminals such as traitors or rebels.[

In addition to the Sakdina system, another of the numerous institutional innovations of Borommatrailokkanat was to adopt the position of uparaja, translated as "viceroy" or "prince", usually held by the king's senior son or full brother, in an attempt to regularise the succession to the throne - a particularly difficult feat for a polygamous dynasty. In practice, there was inherent conflict between king and uparaja and frequent disputed successions. However, it is evident that the power of the Throne of Ayutthaya had its limit. The hegemony of the Ayutthaya king was always based on his charisma in terms of his age and supporters. Without supporters, bloody coups took place from time to time. The most powerful figures of the capital were always generals, or the Minister of Military Department, Kalahom. During the last century of Ayutthaya, the bloody fighting among princes and generals, aiming at the throne, plagued the court.

SOCIAL AND POLITICAL DEVELOPMENT

THE REFORMS OF KING

Borommatrailokkanat (r.1448–1488) placed the king of Ayutthaya at the centre of a highly stratified social and political hierarchy that extended throughout the realm. Despite a lack of evidence, it is believed that in the Ayutthaya Kingdom, the basic unit of social organisation was the village community composed of extended family households. Title to land resided with the headman, who held it in the name of the community, although peasant proprietors enjoyed the use of land as long as they cultivated it. The lords gradually became courtiers (อำมาตย์) and tributary rulers of minor cities. The king ultimately came to be recognised as the earthly incarnation of Shiva or Vishnu and became the sacred object of politico-religious cult practices officiated over by royal court brahmans, part of the Buddhist court retinue. In the Buddhist context, the devaraja (divine king) was a bodhisattva. The belief in divine kingship prevailed into the eighteenth century, although by that time its religious implications had limited impact.With ample reserves of land available for cultivation, the realm depended on the acquisition and control of adequate manpower for farm labour and defence. The dramatic rise of Ayutthaya had entailed constant warfare and, as none of the parties in the region possessed a technological advantage, the outcome of battles was usually determined by the size of the armies. After each victorious campaign, Ayutthaya carried away a number of conquered people to its own territory, where they were assimilated and added to the labour force. Ramathibodi II (r.1491–1529) established a corvée system under which every freeman had to be registered as a phrai (servant) with the local lords, Chao Nai (เจ้านาย). When war broke out, male phrai were subject to impressment. Above the phrai was a nai (นาย), who was responsible for military service, corvée labour on public works, and on the land of the official to whom he was assigned. Phrai Suay (ไพร่ส่วย) met labour obligations by paying a tax. If he found the forced labour under his nai repugnant, he could sell himself as a that (ทาส, slave) to a more attractive nai or lord, who then paid a fee in compensation for the loss of corvée labour. As much as one-third of the manpower supply into the nineteenth century was composed of phrai. Wealth, status, and political influence were interrelated. The king allotted rice fields to court officials, provincial governors, military commanders, in payment for their services to the crown, according to the sakdi na system. The size of each official's allotment was determined by the number of commoners or phrai he could command to work it. The amount of manpower a particular headman, or official, could command determined his status relative to others in the hierarchy and his wealth. At the apex of the hierarchy, the king, who was symbolically the realm's largest landholder, theoretically commanded the services of the largest number of phrai, called phrai luang (royal servants), who paid taxes, served in the royal army, and worked on the crown lands.

However, the recruitment of the armed forces depended on nai, or mun nai, literally meaning 'lord', officials who commanded their own phrai som, or subjects. These officials had to submit to the king's command when war broke out. Officials thus became the key figures to the kingdom's politics. At least two officials staged coups, taking the throne themselves while bloody struggles between the king and his officials, followed by purges of court officials, were always seen.

King Trailok, in the early sixteenth century, established definite allotments of land and phrai for the royal officials at each rung in the hierarchy, thus determining the country's social structure until the introduction of salaries for government officials in the nineteenth century.

Outside this system to some extent were the sangha (Buddhist monastic community), which all classes of men could join, and the Overseas Chinese. Wats became centres of Thai education and culture, while during this period the Chinese first began to settle in Thailand and soon began to establish control over the country's economic life.

The Chinese were not obliged to register for corvée duty, so they were free to move about the kingdom at will and engage in commerce. By the sixteenth century, the Chinese controlled Ayutthaya's internal trade and had found important places in the civil and military service. Most of these men took Thai wives because few women left China to accompany the men.

Uthong was responsible for the compilation of a Dharmaśāstra, a legal code based on Hindu sources and traditional Thai custom. The Dharmaśāstra remained a tool of Thai law until late in the 19th century. A bureaucracy based on a hierarchy of ranked and titled officials was introduced, and society was organised in a related manner. However, the caste system was not adopted.

The sixteenth century witnessed the rise of Burma, which had overrun Chiang Mai and Laos and made war on the Thai. In 1569, Burmese forces, joined by Thai rebels, mostly royal family members of Thailand, captured the city of Ayutthaya and carried off the whole royal family to Burma. Dhammaraja (1569–90), a Thai governor who had aided the Burmese, was installed as vassal king at Ayutthaya. Thai independence was restored by his son, King Naresuan (1590–1605), who turned on the Burmese and by 1600 had driven them from the country.

Determined to prevent another treason like his father's, Naresuan set about unifying the country's administration directly under the royal court at Ayutthaya. He ended the practice of nominating royal princes to govern Ayutthaya's provinces, assigning instead court officials who were expected to execute policies handed down by the king. Thereafter royal princes were confined to the capital. Their power struggles continued, but at court under the king's watchful eye.

To ensure his control over the new class of governors, Naresuan decreed that all freemen subject to phrai service had become phrai luang, bound directly to the king, who distributed the use of their services to his officials. This measure gave the king a theoretical monopoly on all manpower, and the idea developed that since the king owned the services of all the people, he also possessed all the land. Ministerial offices and governorships - and the sakdina that went with them - were usually inherited positions dominated by a few families often connected to the king by marriage. Indeed, marriage was frequently used by Thai kings to cement alliances between themselves and powerful families, a custom prevailing through the nineteenth century. As a result of this policy, the king's wives usually numbered in the dozens.

Even with Naresuan's reforms, the effectiveness of the royal government over the next 150 years was unstable. Royal power outside the crown lands - although in theory absolute - was in practice limited by the looseness of the civil administration. The influence of central government and the king was not extensive beyond the capital. When war with the Burmese broke out in late eighteenth century, provinces easily abandoned the capital. As the enforcing troops were not easily rallied to defend the capital, the city of Ayutthaya could not stand against the Burmese aggressors.

RELIGION

Ayutthaya's main religion was Theravada Buddhism. However, many of the elements of the political and social system were incorporated from Hindu scriptures and were conducted by Brahmin priests. Many areas of the kingdom also practised Mahayana Buddhism, Islam and, influenced by French Missionaries who arrived through China in the 17th century, some small areas converted to Roman Catholicism. The influence of Mahayana and Tantric prractices also entered Theravada Buddhism, producing a tradition called Tantric Theravada.

ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT

The Thais never lacked a rich food supply. Peasants planted rice for their own consumption and to pay taxes. Whatever remained was used to support religious institutions. From the thirteenth to the fifteenth centuries, however, a remarkable transformation took place in Thai rice cultivation. In the highlands, where rainfall had to be supplemented by a system of irrigation that controlled the water level in flooded paddies, the Thais sowed the glutinous rice that is still the staple in the geographical regions of the North and Northeast. But in the floodplain of the Chao Phraya, farmers turned to a different variety of rice - the so-called floating rice, a slender, non-glutinous grain introduced from Bengal - that would grow fast enough to keep pace with the rise of the water level in the lowland fields.

The new strain grew easily and abundantly, producing a surplus that could be sold cheaply abroad. Ayutthaya, situated at the southern extremity of the floodplain, thus became the hub of economic activity. Under royal patronage, corvée labour dug canals on which rice was brought from the fields to the king's ships for export to China. In the process, the Chao Phraya - mud flats between the sea and firm land hitherto considered unsuitable for habitation - was reclaimed and placed under cultivation. Traditionally the king had a duty to perform a religious ceremony blessing the rice plantation.

Although rice was abundant in Ayutthaya, rice export was banned from time to time when famine occurred because of natural calamity or war. Rice was usually bartered for luxury goods and armaments from westerners, but rice cultivation was mainly for the domestic market and rice export was evidently unreliable. Trade with Europeans was lively in the seventeenth century. In fact European merchants traded their goods, mainly modern arms such as rifles and cannons, with local products from the inland jungle such as sapan (lit. bridge) woods, deerskin and rice. Tomé Pires, a Portuguese voyager, mentioned in the sixteenth century that Ayutthaya, or Odia, was rich in good merchandise. Most of the foreign merchants coming to Ayutthaya were European and Chinese, and were taxed by the authorities. The kingdom had an abundance of rice, salt, dried fish, arrack and vegetables.

Trade with foreigners, mainly the Dutch, reached its peak in the seventeenth century. Ayutthaya became a main destination for merchants from China and Japan. It was apparent that foreigners began taking part in the kingdom's politics. Ayutthayan kings employed foreign mercenaries who sometimes entered the wars with the kingdom's enemies. However, after the purge of the French in late seventeenth century, the major traders with Ayutthaya were the Chinese. The Dutch from the Dutch East Indies Company (Vereenigde Oost-Indische Compagnie or VOC), were still active. Ayutthaya's economy declined rapidly in the eighteenth century, until the Burmese invasion caused the total collapse of Ayutthaya's economy in 1788.

CONTACTS WITH THE WEST

In 1511, immediately after having conquered Malacca, the Portuguese sent a diplomatic mission headed by Duarte Fernandes to the court of King Ramathibodi II of Ayutthaya. Having established amicable relations between the kingdom of Portugal and the Kingdom of Siam, they returned with a Siamese envoy with gifts and letters to the King of Portugal. They were the first Europeans to visit the country. Five years after that initial contact, Ayutthaya and Portugal concluded a treaty granting the Portuguese permission to trade in the kingdom. A similar treaty in 1592 gave the Dutch a privileged position in the rice trade.

Foreigners were cordially welcomed at the court of Narai (1657–1688), a ruler with a cosmopolitan outlook who was nonetheless wary of outside influence. Important commercial ties were forged with Japan. Dutch and English trading companies were allowed to establish factories, and Thai diplomatic missions were sent to Paris and The Hague. By maintaining all these ties, the Thai court skilfully played off the Dutch against the English and the French, avoiding the excessive influence of a single power.

In 1664, however, the Dutch used force to exact a treaty granting them extraterritorial rights as well as freer access to trade. At the urging of his foreign minister, the Greek adventurer Constantine Phaulkon, Narai turned to France for assistance. French engineers constructed fortifications for the Thais and built a new palace at Lopburi for Narai. In addition, French missionaries engaged in education and medicine and brought the first printing press into the country. Louis XIV's personal interest was aroused by reports from missionaries suggesting that Narai might be converted to Christianity.

The French presence encouraged by Phaulkon, however, stirred the resentment and suspicions of the Thai nobles and Buddhist clergy. When word spread that Narai was dying, a general, Phetracha, killed the designated heir, a Christian, and had Phaulkon put to death along with a number of missionaries. The arrival of English warships provoked a massacre of more Europeans. Phetracha (reigned 1688–93) seized the throne and expelled the remaining foreigners. Some studies said that Ayutthaya began a period of alienation from western traders, while welcoming more Chinese merchants. But other recent studies argue that, due to wars and conflicts in Europe in the mid-eighteenth century, European merchants reduced their activities in the East. However, it was apparent that the Dutch East Indies Company or VOC was still doing business in Ayutthaya despite political difficulties.

THE FINAL PHASE

After a bloody period of dynastic struggle, Ayutthaya entered into what has been called the golden age, a relatively peaceful episode in the second quarter of the eighteenth century when art, literature, and learning flourished. There were foreign wars. Ayutthaya fought with the Nguyễn Lords (Vietnamese rulers of South Vietnam) for control of Cambodia starting around 1715. But a greater threat came from Burma, where the new Alaungpaya dynasty had subdued the Shan states.

The last fifty years of the kingdom witnessed a bloody struggle among the princes. The throne was their prime target. Purges of court officials and able generals followed. The last monarch, Ekathat, originally known as Prince Anurakmontree, forced the king, who was his younger brother, to step down and took the throne himself.

According to a French source, Ayutthaya in the eighteenth century comprised these principal cities: Martaban, Ligor or Nakhon Sri Thammarat, Tenasserim, Jungceylon or Phuket Island, Singora or Songkhla. Her tributaries were Patani, Pahang, Perak, Kedah and Malacca.

In 1765, a combined 40,000-strong force of Burmese armies invaded the territories of Ayutthaya from the north and west. Major outlying towns quickly capitulated. The only notable example of successful resistance to these forces was found at the village of Bang Rajan. After a 14 months' siege, the city of Ayutthaya capitulated and was burned in April 1767. Ayutthaya's art treasures, the libraries containing its literature, and the archives housing its historic records were almost totally destroyed, and the Burmese brought the Ayutthaya Kingdom to ruin.

The Burmese rule lasted a mere few months. The Burmese, who had also been fighting a simultaneous war with the Chinese since 1765, were forced to withdraw in early 1768 when the Chinese forces threatened their own capital.

With most Burmese forces having withdrawn, the country was reduced to chaos. All that remained of the old capital were some ruins of the royal palace. Provinces proclaimed independence under generals, rogue monks, and members of the royal family.

One general, Phraya Taksin, former governor of Taak, began the reunification effort. He gathered forces and began striking back at the Burmese. He finally established a capital at Thonburi, across the Chao Phraya from the present capital, Bangkok. Taak-Sin ascended the throne, becoming known as King Taak-Sin or Taksin.

The ruins of the historic city of Ayutthaya and "associated historic towns" in the Ayutthaya historical park have been listed by the UNESCO as World Heritage Site. The city of Ayutthaya was refounded near the old city, and is now capital of the Ayutthaya province.

WIKIPEDIA

CJF rugby StMalo / Trojan FC Rugby Club (UK) by saintmalojmgsports

Trojans FC has been providing top class Southampton Rugby for 142 years! Established in 1874 Trojans operates 3 Senior Men's, a Senior Ladies and teams at every youth age group.

#proudtobeatrojan

The Trojans Club was founded in 1874 initially as a rugby club - The Trojans Football Club.

There are now four very active sporting sections, Rugby, Cricket, Hockey and Squash with a total membership of well over one thousand.

During its long and proud history, Trojans has done much to foster amateur sport and has, over the years, produced many county and international players.

The original minute books are still in existence and are held in the Southampton City archives and there are many other documents and press reports that have been used extensively to create the following documents, broken into two sections, the History and the Playing Archives.

This is not intended to be a definitive history of the Trojans Football Club, the oldest rugby club in Hampshire, but more a selection of the highlights of the early years and a brief review of the past few years.

The Beginning

On the 3rd of September 1874 a meeting was held at the Antelope Hotel, Southampton, by members of a previous club, with a view to forming the "Trojans".

The previous Club was the "Southampton Football Club" which existed for one season under that name having previous been the "Grammar School Old Boys". The earliest recorded game so far found was the Old Boys against the Shirley Club on 5th October 1872 at Porter's Meadow. The match was won by Shirley by 2 touchdowns to one. H F Gibbs was captain of both of these forerunners.

H F Gibbs was voted the first Captain of the Trojans Football Club and the Club colours were voted as blue and red. It was agreed that the first annual subscription should be five shillings per year. The first rugby games of the Club were played at Porters Mead, which is now called Queens Park, Southampton.

The first Annual Meeting of the Club took place on the 24th September 1875 when the Treasurer reported a small credit balance of five pence halfpenny (2.29p). The results for the 1874/75 season produced five victories and three defeats.

The Club joined the Rugby Football Union in 1881.

Change the Laws

At a committee Meeting on the 5th September 1874 the Playing Rules of Rugby Football were read through and the worthy members of the Trojans decided to make an amendment to Rule number 15 which read "It is lawful to run in anywhere across the goal line". The addition made by the Trojans at that stage was "except between the goal posts". The Club soon found it necessary to alter this!

The First Results

Southsea (A) lost by two punts out and seven touch downs

Salisbury (A) Won by one goal and two touch downs to nil.

Salisbury (H) Lost by one goal, one try and two touch downs to two tries and four touch downs.

Magpies Won by three tries and seven touch downs to nil.

Southsea (H) Won by one goal to nil

Springhill Won by one goal and three touch downs to one goal.

Royal Academy Gosport Lost by four tries and six touch downs to one try.

First Floodlit game

On the evening of 28th November 1878, a match was played against the Rovers Football Club by electric light, having been cancelled the night before because of rain. This was the first exhibition of electric light in Southampton, and believed to be the first ever game of rugby under lights. The local newspaper reported that "at times the light was very brilliant and players could be seen plainly".

Ban the Game!

During the 1880 season, S E Gibbs died as a result of an injury while playing against Romsey. There was much local comment and the then Mayor of Southampton issued a handbill, published in full in "The Times", condemning the game as follows:

"The Mayor in consequence of the many serious accidents and the recent deplorable death in Southampton resulting from the dangerous practice of playing football requests the Heads of Families, the Principals of Scholastic Establishments in the Town and Members of Clubs to take such steps as may be necessary for preventing the game being played in future according to Rugby Union, Association and other rules of a dangerous character. The Mayor considers it his duty to use every means in his power for prohibiting the game as hitherto played being continued in the Porters Meadow field or upon any other of the Public lands in Southampton".

At the Committee Meeting of 16th December 1880 "It was decided to play as usual unless we found out before that the Mayor had given any instruction to the police. In that case it was thought best to summons any offending "arm of the law" for assault".

The Formation of the Hampshire Rugby Football Union

At the Trojan Club's initiative, a meeting was held on 13th April 1883 to discuss the formation of "The Hampshire County Rugby Football Union". In the first season of the County Club, at least seven Trojans represented the County.

In 1901 County activities ceased and it was again the Trojans, along with United Services, who, in 1910, convened a meeting at the Trojans Club for the purpose of forming a Rugby Football Union in Hampshire.

Over 400 Trojan members have represented the county at rugby at the various levels and 140 at senior level.

“International” Football"

Although a rugby club, Trojans were known, on occasions, to play with the round ball. The following team was selected to play Curries French team (from Havre) on the New Football Ground, Archers Road (the Dell) on Tuesday 1st November 1898. Scotney, goal, Denning & Maundrell, backs, Densham, Ellerby & Colson, halfs, Ellaby, Page, Macdonald, Gamble & Hussey (councillor and later Sir George), forwards. Trojans were allowed to take half the gate money. The Echo reported this as a game against a team of French players and thus it claimed the honour of being the first international match played at the Dell.

The First Hampshire Cup

In May 1888 the Trojans Committee proposed the starting of a Rugby Union Cup Competition in the interests of Rugby Football. The County Challenge Cup (Presented by Tankerville Chamberlayne M.P., President of Trojans, and pictured here) was started in the 1889/1890 season and the Club entered the same. During this year, not only was the pitch enclosed by rope, but a charge of sixpence was made to all spectators. The Cup was duly won by Trojans in March 1890. Whether it was ever played for again is not sure as, in 1891, Trojans decided not to enter because " it was felt that it was a farce putting up the cup at the fag end of the season to be competed for by three clubs"! The present whereabouts of the grand cup is not known, although it is believed it was presented back to Tankerville Chamberlayne.

Service to the County

As well as forming the County Union (twice), Trojan members have served the County well and it can be said that there has always been a Trojan involved in Hampshire Rugby since its formation.

In particular, over the 108 active years of the Union, six Trojan members have served as President of the Union serving a total of 49 years. Six Secretaries served a total of 36 years and for the first sixty-two years of County representation on the RFU Committee the Hampshire representative was a Trojan.

Mr. Hampshire

There can be no more respected and faithful servant of the County and the Game than one particular Trojan, Dudley Kemp, as the following record illustrates -

Captain of Trojans 1927-34, 1935-38

Captain of Hampshire 1935

Played for England 1935.

Barbarian

President of the Rugby Football Union 1969

Member of the International Board 1971-77

Hampshire representative on the RFU Committee 1955-69

President HRFU 1973-76

Secretary HRFU 1946-67

Assistant Secretary HRFU 1967-68

Team Secretary HRFU 1946-53

Match Secretary HRFU 1953-56

Dudley died at his home in Devon in January 2003 aged 93.

Doggy Spectators

During a match between Trojans and Portsmouth Victoria in 1886, the ball was kicked into the Trojans' in-goal area where it rebounded off a stray dog. One of the Portsmouth players gathered it and touched down to claim a try. The Trojans protested, and claimed "dead-ball" the ball having struck a "spectator". The objection was later referred to the RFU Committee who ruled that the try should stand, as dogs could not be classed as spectators!

The Barbarians

H A Haigh-Smith was elected Trojans Captain in 1912. He was instrumental in forming the Barbarians Club and was later made president of that Club. He was also assistant Manager of the Lions tour in 1935.

Trojans played the Barbarians on January 9th 1895 but the result does not appear to have been recorded for posterity!

The Wars!

Trojans Rugby had to be suspended three times because of wars - in 1897 because of the Boer War, 1914, the Great War and 1939 the World War.

Moving Home

Although always considered a Southampton Club, Trojans actually now play in the Test Valley District. Over the years there have been many homes -

1874 the first games were played at Porters Mead, which is now called Queens Park on Queens Terrace. (by the Dock Gates)

1884 the Club donated the sum of two guineas towards the purchase of the proposed Cricket Ground in Bannister Park, until recently, the County Cricket Ground, and commenced playing rugby there in the 1884/85 season.

1897 Freemantle Ground, Stafford Road

1905 County Cricket Ground, Northlands Road

1923 G H Brown's farm in Wide Lane, Swathling with Atlantic Park (now Southampton Airport) being used for the dressing accommodation.

1929 Southampton Stadium, Banister Road

1931 Bannister Court as well as G H Brown's farm

1933 11 acres of land purchased in Cemetery Road, Swaythling (sold in 1945)

1946 County Cricket Ground, Northlands Road

1947 Sports Centre, Southampton

1958 Stoneham Park (the present ground). The ground, 22.8 acres, was purchased in 1953 for £1,205 and was another example of the members' foresight, as the timber in the ground was sold for sums almost sufficient to cover the cost of purchase! In 1958, a temporary corrugated iron changing room was completed and the foundations of the pavilion commenced. The pavilion was officially opened by A.T. Voyce, President of the Rugby Football Union, on 27th December 1960.

The Prime Years

Throughout the early and mid 1900s, Trojans went from strength to strength and provided many County Players as well a number of Internationals.

The modern peak was probably reached in the early 1960s when the Club could justifiably consider itself to be the premier civilian rugby club in the South of England (outside London). In 1961, seven rugby sides were fielded with over 200 players available for selection.

Before league tables were introduced in 1987/88, local newspapers ran Merit Tables, the Wessex Merit Table and the Hampshire Merit Table both being won in the 1978/79 and the 1980/81 seasons.

The Lean Years

There were many reasons for the decline from that peak which started in the early 80s. More local clubs, easier transport and a change of working patterns (Trojans being very much a "transit camp" in those days) were some of them. The introduction of leagues in 1987 hit the Club at the worst possible time. In the first year, the Club was put into London Division 3 but could not cope at that level and dropped straight into Hampshire Division One. Luck was also in short supply when the Club, having finished fifth, seventh from bottom (!), the team was still relegated to Hampshire Division Two (a quirk of the league structure). There the Club stayed, battling for promotion with the other strong clubs to be relegated in the mass drop, until the 1992/93 season when the league was won with a record of played 10, won 10, for 353, against 37 which included a league record win of 91-0 against Waterlooville.

Three seasons were spent in Hampshire One but the 1995/96 season saw what was probably

the strongest ever Hampshire Division 1 and relegation again befell the team. 1996/97 season saw us just lose out on promotion but success was achieved in 1997/98.

The Revival Years

Success was achieved in the 2000/2001 season when promotion was achieved to London Division 4SW (The old Division 3SW having been broken into two divisions). The first season at that level was quite successful, ending mid-table, but the next was not when Hampshire 1 again beckoned. Promotion and relegation followed over a number of seasons until London Division 1 was achieved in the 2011/12 season.

Competition is maintained throughout the Senior Club with the 2nd XV being in the Hampshire Senior merit table and the 3rd XV being in the Hampshire Division 1 merit table.

One significant advance was the introduction of Women's rugby which has developed into the strongest team in Southern England. The end of the 2006/07 season saw them promoted to the Championship 1 South (National level 2) and in 2009/10 a second team was entered into the leagues.

The Strength of Youth

One thing that has remained a strength since it's formation in the mid 70s is the Youth Section. Being one of the first clubs to introduce Mini Rugby in England (imported from Wales) the Mini and Junior Sections have encouraged many thousands of youngsters into the game and the Youth section now runs teams in every year group from under 8s to under 17s, holds annual tournaments and is generally held up to be a model of organization.

Existence by Sourav Saha

2 20

And from a cliff-top is proclaimed

The gathering of the souls for birth,

The trial by existence named,

The obscuration upon earth.

And the slant spirits trooping by

In streams and cross- and counter-streams

Can but give ear to that sweet cry

For its suggestion of what dreams!

-- Robert Frost, The Trial By Existence

View Large On Black

Minimal existence by Pulpolux !!!

3

A Sheltered Existence by Michael Perkins

3 2

OVIYAM - PENGAL OVIYANGAL - Concept Paintings about Women - Artist Anikartick,Chennai,Tamil Nadu,India by Artist ANIKARTICK,Chennai(T.Subbulapuram VASU)

Tamil poet Bharathi -A real life hero

The Tamil poet, Maha Kavi Subramaniam Bharathiar, familiarly referred to as Bharathi, has been a real life hero. His extraordinary power was his poetry, his weapon of choice- his pen. He wrote at a time when his country was crying out for reform. Though many may remember him for inspiring his people to seek freedom from alien rule, he also spoke out for the freedom and equality of the Indian woman - his damsel in distress - in a time when they were barely acknowledged for their existence.

The mid 19th century was a time when the Indian woman had absolutely no rights and their relationship with their husbands were close to that of Master and Slave. Women were not thought important enough to pursue studies, as their role was more as the dutiful wife at home.

Bharathi was first among the growing school of Renaissance poets during this period who insisted that the only way for a country to grow was through empowering its women.

"Aanum Pennum nigarrenak kolvathaal

Ariviloanki ivvagayakam thalaikumaam"

Taken from his poem Puthumai Penn (New Woman) the line evokes that "When we realize that man and woman are equal, this world will flourish with knowledge".

Born on December 11, 1882, in the Tamil village of Ettayapuram, Bharathi a Brahmin was recognized for his talent as a poet even at the age of 11. After an early marriage Bharathi curious about the outside world travelled to Kasi in 1898, where the next four years led him discover a nation in tumult and misery under British rule. By the early 1900s Bharathi had fully immersed himself in the nationalist rule and took an active part in the Congress gatherings throughout the country. He also took an avid interest in the world of journalism and the print media of the West. He joined the Swadeshamitran, a Tamil daily as Assistant Editor and later on started his own Tamil weekly Bala Bharatham and also the English newspaper India. He was frequently thrown into prison as a result of his strong views against the British who were suppressing freedom fighters at the time.

From religious hymns to inspiring nationalist anthems and poems shattering without hesitation every social taboo that was held close by conventional South Indians, Bharathi voiced his opinion without hesitation in a lyrical style that has not even been surpassed by literature that followed his period. Among his well-known poetry is Oadi vilayaadu paapaa. While a poem of instruction for children it also hints to all ages on accepting people as human beings and not on their caste or creed.

Jaadhigal illaiyadi paaapaa,

Kulath thaalchi uyarchi sollal paavam paapaa

Neethi uyarntha mathi kalvi

Anbu niraiya udayavargal meloar paapaa

"There is no caste little one. It is a sin to categorise people as high and low caste. Only those who possess justice, intelligence and education and great love are of a high caste"

Thus he included the Tamil woman in his fight for freedom who, in one of his essays he called "Slaves who remain conservative and orthodox" as they were "not permitted to make their own choices".

Woman as a mother was Bharathi's favourite theme and the book 'Woman in Modern Tamil Literature' by Loganayagy Nannithamby says that "Bharati who envisages women as the incarnation of Sakti [Parasakti - the great Goddess or the Mother-Goddess] says in one of his essays on philosophy: As a man, all the female deities you pray to, represent the latent powers of Parasakti hidden in women like your mother, wife, sister and daughter."

Bharati's idealist views later turned to more down-to-earth, reformist views with the seeping in of Northern influences like the coming of the Brahmins and Puranas, which was slowly deteorating the status of the woman of the South. He argued that if women's freedom were to be deprived, man would perish along with it and that men were not to monopolize freedom.

Aettayum pengal thoduvadhu theemaiyendren niyirunthavar

Maaynthuvittar

Veetukkullay pennaip pooti vaippoam endra vindai manithar thalai

Kavilnthaaar

"Those who thought that women should not touch books and learn have died! Those surprising people who said that we have to lock women in homes to do their duties, have put their heads down in shame."

His hope for women included a librated free woman who thought independently and used her knowledge, like men, for the betterment of the country. His wife Chellamal Bharati, in her biography of her husband related incidents when she says how her husband put all social barriers to the wind and clung to her arms while walking boldly next to her (Brahmin women were required to walk a few steps behind her husband).

"Nimirntha nannenjum naer konda paarvaiyum

Nilathinil yaarukkum anjaatha nerigalum

Thimirntha gnanach cherukkum iruppadhaal

Semmai maadhargal thirambuvathillaiyaam"

"With upright heart and steadfast look and ideas that are not afraid of anyone in the world- the woman does not falter as she has the delight of wisdom."

This great poet died on September 11, 1921 after being trampled by an Elephant when he went seeking blessings at the temple.

He was thought of as such an outcast at the time that only seven people attended his funeral. But his poetry, which belied his time, caused the birth of new ideas and the emancipation of the status of the woman in India today and remains as inspiration to millions of people around the world.

All Saints, Rothbury, Northumberland by Jelltex

1

This is an ancient place of worship – the Gospel has been preached here for probably 1,200 years. The Anglo-Saxons had a royal burgh here and the existence of the Anglian cross would indicate that there was a church here in those days.

It is surprising that any relics of old churches are found in the Coquet Valley. There were two periods of destruction of churches in England – the Reformation and Cromwell’s Commonwealth. In addition to that, in this area there were Viking and Norman invasions, followed for many years by the incursions of the Scots. The Coquet valley, serene as it may seem today, was one of the most violent parts of England.

The monastic church at Rothbury must have been destroyed either by the Vikings or even the Normans; however the eastern part seems to have survived to become the foundation of a new building at some time in the thirteenth century, part of which can still be seen in the chancel, the chancel arch and the east walls of the transepts.

In the eighteenth century the church had galleries, dormer windows and a three-decker pulpit but these all disappeared in the restoration of 1850, undertaken by the Rector, Canon C. Vernon Harcourt. With a few additions and alterations this is the church we see today. This was a busy period of church building in the valley. Within two years, the churches at Rothbury, Alwinton and Holystone were either rebuilt, modified or restored.

Most of the stained glass in the Church is Victorian, the exceptions being two windows on the north wall in memory of local head teachers and those in the Memorial Chapel in the south transept.

In the Baptistry (1) is the greatest treasure of the church; the pedestal of the font. This is part of the shaft of the Anglo-Saxon cross, dated around 800AD. More remnants of this cross were discovered during the 1850 restoration; they are now in the Museum of Antiquities, Newcastle. On the north side is what is said to be the earliest carving of the Ascension in this country. The Disciples can be seen gazing up to the ascending Christ. The south side is a panel of intricate knotwork, the west side has a carving of beasts preying on one another and on the east side an animal (a lion) can be seen walking between double branches bearing fruit in clusters of three.

The bowl of the font dates from 1664 replacing one damaged during the unrest of the Civil War and the Commonwealth. The font cover is twentieth-century, given in memory of Lady Armstrong. Lord Armstrong’s funeral hatchment hangs on the south wall (2).

In the corner stands a small bell which hung in the tower above until 1893 when the present peal of eight bells was given to the church. It is inscribed ‘John Thomlinson, Rector of Rothbury 1682’. It was a product of the well known Whitechapel Foundry.

On the east side of the Baptistry screen are the boards bearing the names of the Rectors of Rothbury from Lucas in 1287, to the last Rector of the parish of Rothbury. In the new parish of Upper Coquetdale, the incumbent also carries the title of Rector.

The Bells

There is a peal of eight bells in the tower with the tenor bell weighing 13cwt 3qr 15lb. They were presented to the church in 1893 in memory of William Dawson by his sister, Mary.

The Nave

The nave was totally restored in 1850 – of necessity it would seem. However, the nave arch has origins as far back as the thirteenth century.

The pews are numbered, possibly from the era when individuals or families had their own private pew. Either for a standard fee, or in some cases by auction, a pew could be acquired for personal occupation. This custom died mostly during the late Victorian period. The numbering system was sometimes retained after this time as a means of keeping maintenance records.

The pulpit (3) is a fine piece of Victorian carving, given in 1901 in memory of Lady Armstrong depicting Bernard Gilpin, the 16th century “Apostle of the North” along with Saints Columba, Paulinus, Hilda and Aidan. The brass eagle lectern is of the same period.

The screen (4), another piece of beautiful wood carving, was installed in 1901 in memory of Lord Armstrong. On the mouldings of the beam is a series of eighteen shields blazoned with the arms of landowners, benefactors, patrons, and communities connected with Rothbury Church and parish from the 12th century down to the time of installation.

The inner porch on the south door (5) was erected in 1929 in memory of Dr Thomas Sharpe, Rector 1720 – 1758; another great benefactor of the Parish. One legacy of Dr. Sharpe is “Sharpe’s Folly” half a mile away at Whitton. It is a 30ft high tower, reported to be built to provide local masons with employment, but also to be used as an observatory.

The Chancel

There are two thirteenth century arches in the north wall of the chancel, separating the chancel from the vestries (6). The building containing the vestries stands on the site of the old Cartington chantry, and was built in 1886. The chantry which belonged to the Cartington estate was endowed for the maintenance of a priest to celebrate masses for the benefit of the souls of the founder and his family. After the Reformation, when prayers for the dead were forbidden, the chantry appears to have fallen into decay over the next hundred years. The arches were sealed to keep out inclement weather (and vandals), and remained that way for another two hundred years before the modifications in 1886.

In 1658 it was, ordered that “no grave be dig’d in ye bodye of the Church under the price of 5/-. Because it not being flag’ d would not only spoile the seats and floor, but endanger ye people’s health by infectious aire” – consequently the chancel had a marble pavement laid about 1710 (this was later covered) and the Nave was flagged for the first time in 1730.

The oak choir stalls are dedicated to the memory of Edward Mallet Young, Rector of Rothbury, 1894-1900.

The oak screen that divides the chancel from the priest’s vestry (6) is decorated with tracery work, and in its twelve panels there are the family coats of arms of twelve of the rectors of Rothbury.

The organ screen is a memorial to those who fell in the First World War. This screen is surmounted by organ pipes which are purely decorative. Looking between these pipes, the highly decorated genuine functional pipes may be seen.

Around 1840, the music in the services was provided by a string band, clarinets and violins, which were succeeded by a barrel organ. The present organ was given by Lord Armstrong and the rector, Rev. C.G.V. Harcourt in 1866. It was built by Hill and Sons of London in 1866, a company that operated in London from 1862 to 1917 before becoming Hill, Norman and Beard. When installed, it was sited at the west end of the church. Its precise location is not known but it may be assumed from the design of the instrument that the organist would sit with his back to the congregation. Playing while trying to control the choir at the east end of the church at the same time must have been extremely difficult, and it is probable that the choir sat at the west end of the church at that time.

The organ was later moved to its present position (7), certainly earlier than 1901, and would presumably be following or at the time of building the new vestry in 1887.

It is a two manual instrument with eleven speaking stops, and has never been modified in design – it still has a flat pedal board and the swell pedal is unbalanced, being able to be notched in position as the organist wishes.

An electric blower was installed many years ago, but the handle for hand blowing the bellows is still in place should it ever be needed.

The Sanctuary

On the east wall behind the altar is a finely made reredos (8) of Corsham Down stone, alabaster, and marble, consisting of five trefoil-headed arches.

The paneling in the sanctuary was installed in the early twentieth century. On the north side is the Thomlinson Memorial. (9) Dr John Thomlinson was Rector of Rothbury from 1679 to 1720. He was one of the greatest benefactor of the Parish; among many other things he founded a school where there were two masters “to teach gratis all such children within the Parish to read and understand the English, Latin and Greek tongues and to write, cast accounts and the Church catechism”.

The heraldic devices on the paneling belong to former Rectors who were also Lords of the Manor of Whitton.

To the south of the Altar is a thirteenth century Piscina (10) where the priest washes his fingers before the consecration in the Communion service. The carpet in the sanctuary and along the altar rail was worked by eighteen ladies of the Parish in 1972, the design being based on the knotwork of the Font.

The Memorial Chapel

The Chapel (11) is dedicated to the memory of the men of Rothbury who died in both World Wars.

The altar came from Sleights Church in North Yorkshire, the ends of the altar and the paneling from the old oak pews of the Church which in turn were made from trees from the ancient Rothbury Forest.

The windows were designed by LE. Evetts in keeping with the clear glass of old Northumbrian churches. He also executed the Regimental badges.

External features

The foundations of the tower are medieval but it has been much restored, and the village clock was placed in the tower in 1897. In more recent years the clock has been modified and is now electrically powered.

The west door was restored in the Early English style and is generally used on special occasions such as weddings, funerals and festivals.

In the outer porch (12) wall are three mediaeval stones, thought to be fragments from old grave covers.

On the south outside wall of the Chancel are two scratch sundials (13,14) – these are frequently found near the Priest’s Door of medieval churches as they are here. Also, on the south lawn, is a block sundial (15) – this used to be on the roof of the porch. It had four dials and was white-leaded for easier reading. (in 1728 this cost 1s 9d.).

The graveyards around the church and on the west side of the road are no longer in use. They contain the graves of some interesting people including the Armstrong family of Cragside.

coquetdaleanglican.org/thropton/

existencia_1 by JuanPedro SalvoSeade

7 3

spirtual existence by clearaine

-within navy star-

~wavy navy~

*-1967 times over 1985*

_venus_

:::star central:::

^^the goonies^^

Thailand - Ayutthaya - Wat Mahathat - Overgrown Buddha Head - 14c by Manfred Sommer