Speakers’ Corner

letters from our readers

GLORIOUS COVER

WHAT A GLORIOUS COVER on your July 2004 issue! Any time I want to embroider a motif from the Bayeux Tapestry, I take one of my books to the local printer to have the picture enlarged, etc., etc. Now here are at least eight full-sized pictures, in clear colour, even if some of the smaller pictures will still have to be enlarged. I also love the indepth article about the tapestry.
I hope you are planning to do the same with future articles on such subjects as Tolkien characters, Arthurian figures, etc. I’d also love to know more about the Overlord Embroidery (page 56).
lna R. Mish
East Orleans, Massachusetts

EDITOR‘S NOTE: Readers who would like to learn more about the Overlord Embroidery, which depicts the 1944 Allied landings in Normandy in much the same style as the Bayeux Teapestry depicts the Norman Invasion, should visit the website of the D-Day Museum in Portsmouth, which includes many images of scenes from the Embroidery. Go to www.ddaymuseum.co.uk, and click on “Overlord Embroidery” in the site’s menu bar.

AT HASTINGS WITH WILLIAM

IN 1983, AFTER TWO YEARS of research, Debretts Peerage Ancestry Research certified me as a 29th generation descendant of Gautier (Waiter) Giffard, Earl of Longueville in Normandy. Later that summer I spent some time in the remains of his castle, which has a partly broken plaque on the front showing a warrior, spear extended, charging on his horse. It reads, “Gautier Giffard, 1066.”
Histories record that he supposedly raised 30 ships to help with William’s conquest at the Battle of Hastings, where Gautier fought nobly. He was very amply rewarded by William, who granted him many properties in various parts of England as well as making him the 1st Earl of Buckingham.
My own grandfather, Waiter William Gifford, was the first American born into this family of English immigrants in 1859. His two older brothers who were born in Parkham, Devon continued the family’s military tradition by serving Ohio throughout the Civil War. Supposedly grandpa was named for his famous ancestor.
Patricia Hosmer
South Russel, Ohio

We also enjoyed an unusual place called Avencroft, which had some very interesting architectural concepts to explore.
It’s fun to visit places that aren’t crowded with tourists, even though I enjoy being a tourist myself! Thanks to the advertisements in British Heritage, we’ve found some great places to stay. Keep up the fine work. You are appreciated.
Leslie Jones
Duluth, Minnesota

EDITOR‘S NOTE: The Avencroft Ms Jones refers to is the Avencroft Museum of Buildings, in Bromsgrove, Worcestershire. The museum features buildings saved from demolition and includes a working windmill, a dovecote, a cockpit, and other unusual structures.

ARTICLES OF SUBSTANCE
THANKS FOR THE ARTICLES of substance now being carried in your magazine. I believe this will be appreciated by many others.
James R. Tuck
Nashville, Tennessee

EDITOR’s NOTE: For obvious reasons, we just love to receive letters like this. But in addition to giving us reason to enjoy the simple pleasure of hearing from satisfied readers, this kind of feedback also helps us to serve our readers better. We have been making a conscious effort to tailor the magazine so that it can convey more substantial articles in a more compact format. Hopefully, we have achieved some degree of success, and this letter, and several others we have received in the same vein, show us that readers have noticed. We invite such comments, as well as more critical suggestions, in our ongoing attempt to deliver the best of Braitain’s rich and varied heritage.

PARDON OUR BOMBAST

I TAKE GREAT EXCEPTION to Jim Hargan’s comments in his article, “Leeds: Castle of Queens,” in the May 2004 issue (page 42). He states that “the rest of us” were so lucky that William Randolph Hearst eschewed purchasing the castle, leaving it to the tasteful attentions of buyer Olive Wilson Filmer. This implies the Americans lack discernment while wealthy British aristocrats have the taste and elegance necessary to appreciate true beauty.
According to the article, Lady Baillie was able to see what William Randolph Hearst could not—that Leeds was one of the most beautiful places on earth. What bombastic puffery! I have seen Leeds Castle and while I certainly cannot credit Hearst with anything like taste, which was vulgar in the extreme, at least he saw the place for what it was. Leeds Castle is a squat, graceless, hulking lump of stone with artless, predictable landscaping. Nothing more.
Heather Durham
Buena Vista, Colorado

AN INVITATION

Help us to keep BRITISH HERITAGE readers abreast of news about upcoming U.S. Celtic fairs, Highland games, renaissance fairs, Shakespeare performances, and other events related to British and Irish heritage. Send the name and a description of the event, the date, and public contact information such as a telephone number, email address, or web address to: BritishHeritage_magazine@primediamags.com, or to British Heritage, 741 Miller Drive SE, Suite D-2, Leesburg, VA 20175.

CORRECTION

FIRST OF ALL, let me say how very much I enjoy the magazine and look forward to each issue. I read all the items and special features with much pleasure.
I am extremely interested in British and American history and so the last item on page 60 of the July issue (“Recommended”) caught my eye. The notice about the upcoming PBS series, Rebels and Redcoats: How Britain Lost America, which “provides some much needed historical balance,” was right on target. I wanted to find local air times, etc., and so noticed that the Internet site given is in error. Rather than www.wgbh.com, the web address should read www.wgbh.org.
Gwynn Colten

EDITOR‘S NOTE: We apologize for the error, and thank you, Gwynn, for alerting us to it. The PBS site is a great source of information about television programming with a British flavour.