Newsletter 87

French Foray

Tom Glover is chairman of Wigan's twinning committee so he is used to arranging well-organised trips into France and last month's society trip to Angers was no exception. Mind you, with the imminent demise of P&O Lines' ferry from Portsmouth to Le Havre, future visits may not be so easy.

This year's trip started with a visit to the Roman villa at Littlecote, located just a few miles west of Hungerford on the banks of the River Kennet. The Romans always like to use local materials, and here they have used flint to construct a large villa complex, with a sophisticated hypocaust system and attached bathhouse. But what makes Littlecote special is the unique triconch hall with its spectacular mosaic. Rediscovered in 1977 after being lost in the early 18th century, it has been painstakingly preserved and restored revealing images of Orpheus and Apollo. The villa lies in the grounds of a Tudor mansion where Henry VIII wooed Jane Seymour. This in itself is worth a visit; in fact you can stay there as Warner run it as a high-class hotel (we obviously had to pop in for a quick one before our evening meal on the Portsmouth dock - prior to embarkation).

Arriving in France in the early hours we had plenty of time to reach Angers for a relaxing afternoon picnic at our usual resort at Lac de Maine. In the evening, a quick visit into Angers gave us a chance to see the delights of this historic city by night.

The next day, in the company of Michel Cousin, we set off on a trip along the banks of the River Loire, accompanied by this year's ambassadress, Claire Littler, who comes from Garswood. Two years ago, Michel gave us an excellent tour of the Troglodyte caves around Doué-la-Fountain. This year he took us to one of the many Prehistoric Dolmen which populate this area of France.

Dolmen are 4 or 5 thousand year old burial chambers, made from huge slabs of stone and once buried under huge mounds of earth. The one Michel took us to was so big that for many centuries it has been used as house; in fact inside were the remains of a large bread oven. The vineyard at Chateau de Fiervaux, our next visit, was a pleasant diversion from our archaeological programme (and also gave us a chance to avail ourselves of some local produce). After a pleasant lunch in a café on the outskirts of Saumur, we made our way to the Chateau de Brézé for our last visit of the day. This spectacular mansion dates back to the 11th century but its special attraction is an extensive underground cave system surrounded by a deep dry moat. Until recently it was used mainly for storage, but originally it functioned as a refuge in times of trouble (it even had its own bakery).

A pleasant evening meal in Angers' city centre followed the next day, by a visit to a Roman temple on our journey home. The site at Oisseau le Petit, lying just south of Alençon, is actually a reconstruction based on original foundations. The remains are all that is left of a Roman city which once stretched either side of the Roman Road from Le Mans to Rouen. The temple canopy provided welcome shade from the baking sun while lunch was taken.

Reaching Falaise in the late afternoon, we had time to view William the Conqueror's castle, before travelling on to Le Havre for our evening meal at the Mercure Hotel, overlooking the harbour.

This was another highly successful trip and, as usual, a full report will be given by Adrian Morris at our AGM in February.

CBA Autumn Meeting

Saturday 15th October at The Storey Institute in Lancaster. This year there is a maritime theme with a full programme of speakers on a range of subjects including: Prehistory of the Irish Sea Zone, Liverpool's Old Port, Historic Seascape of the Dee estuary and Fylde Coast, Ancient Fish Traps at Cowp Scar and Coastal Formation Processes. The cost for members is £7.00 and £12.75 including lunch (£9.50 and £15.50 for non-members). More details at the meeting.

Obituary

It is with regret that we record the passing of Dr. Wendy Clayton in September 2005. Wendy was a longstanding member who took a profound interest in all facets of the Society.

This has been a sad year for the society, with the loss of three members during the year; Bill Dawber in June and Norman Livesey earlier in the year, being the other two.

Next Meeting

Wednesday 5th October at the Baden Powell Centre (Scout HQ) in Greenough Street, starting at 7.30 pm as usual. This month sees the return of our old friend and favoured speaker Dr Martin Charlesworth. Continuing with our eastern European theme, his talk will be on the Romans in Persia.

Hope to see you there - B.A.