Hilton, Cambridgeshire
Encyclopedia
Hilton is a village in Cambridgeshire
, East Anglia
, England
, about 11 miles (18 km) northwest of Cambridge
. The parish
adjoins the parishes of Elsworth
, Fenstanton
, Hemingford Abbots
, Hemingford Grey
, Papworth Everard
and Papworth St Agnes
. The parish church is dedicated to St Mary Magdalene
and has a peal of six bells.
A fragment of a wall painting on plaster
, made for Captain Sparrow (1601–1651), at Park Farm, Hilton, probably around the time of his marriage in 1633, is now in the Victoria & Albert Museum, London
. The fragment depicts two figures representing the sense
s of Taste
and Sight
and was donated by David Garnett
and his wife Angelica Bell
of Hilton Hall, who were members of the Bloomsbury Group
.
is a turf maze
(or labyrinth
) some 55 ft (16.5 m) in diameter: a stone pillar at its centre records that the maze was cut by William Sparrow (1641–1729) in 1660. The Latin inscriptions, above and below a coat of arms
(presumably Sparrow's), reads "Sic transit gloria mundi" ("Thus the glory of the world passes away") "Gvlielmvs Sparrow, Gen., natvs ano. 1641. Aetatis svi 88 qvamdo obiit, hos gyros fornavit anno 1660" ("William Sparrow, Gentleman, born in the year 1641. Aged 88 when he died, he formed these circles in the year 1660"). The English one reads "William Sparrow departed this life the 25th August, Anno Domini 1729, aged 88 years".
The design of the maze is similar to the famous pavement labyrinth at Chartres Cathedral
, laid in 1235. An illustration by W.H. Matthews in his "Mazes and Labyrinths" (1922) shows several paths leading to the central circle: the erection of the pillar at its centre, some 69 years after it had been cut, could have confused the design, or the paths may simply have become overgrown. Recent maintenance has made the maze conform to the standard medieval pattern.
It has been suggested that the young Sparrow might have recut the maze on the site of an earlier one which had become indistinct from lack of maintenance. There is no evidence to support this theory, but the dating of turf mazes is notoriously difficult. A turf maze of similar design, in the nearby village of Comberton
, was called "the Mazles". It no longer exists.
Cambridgeshire
Cambridgeshire is a county in England, bordering Lincolnshire to the north, Norfolk to the northeast, Suffolk to the east, Essex and Hertfordshire to the south, and Bedfordshire and Northamptonshire to the west...
, East Anglia
East Anglia
East Anglia is a traditional name for a region of eastern England, named after an ancient Anglo-Saxon kingdom, the Kingdom of the East Angles. The Angles took their name from their homeland Angeln, in northern Germany. East Anglia initially consisted of Norfolk and Suffolk, but upon the marriage of...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
, about 11 miles (18 km) northwest of Cambridge
Cambridge
The city of Cambridge is a university town and the administrative centre of the county of Cambridgeshire, England. It lies in East Anglia about north of London. Cambridge is at the heart of the high-technology centre known as Silicon Fen – a play on Silicon Valley and the fens surrounding the...
. The parish
Parish
A parish is a territorial unit historically under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of one parish priest, who might be assisted in his pastoral duties by a curate or curates - also priests but not the parish priest - from a more or less central parish church with its associated organization...
adjoins the parishes of Elsworth
Elsworth
Elsworth is a village and civil parish in South Cambridgeshire, England, 9 miles west of Cambridge. At the time of the 2001 census, the parish's population was 657.-History:...
, Fenstanton
Fenstanton
Fenstanton – in Huntingdonshire , England – is a village near Hemingford Grey two miles south of St Ives lying on the south side of the River Ouse....
, Hemingford Abbots
Hemingford Abbots
Hemingford Abbots is a village in Huntingdonshire , England. The village, almost continuous with neighbouring Hemingford Grey, is situated two miles south west of St Ives.-History:...
, Hemingford Grey
Hemingford Grey
- Location:It is situated on the southern bank of the River Great Ouse in the county of Cambridgeshire, with the northern bank occupied by the flood meadow. Until 1965 it was in Huntingdonshire and between 1965 and 1974 it was in the short-lived county of Huntingdon and Peterborough...
, Papworth Everard
Papworth Everard
Papworth Everard is a village in Cambridgeshire, England. It lies ten miles west of Cambridge and six miles south of Huntingdon, having along its centre Ermine Street, the old North Road, the Roman highway that for centuries served as a major artery from London to York, which is now the A1198...
and Papworth St Agnes
Papworth St Agnes
Papworth St Agnes is a village and civil parish in South Cambridgeshire, England.- History :The original village can be traced in the settlement remains between existing cottages and the Manor house....
. The parish church is dedicated to St Mary Magdalene
Mary Magdalene
Mary Magdalene was one of Jesus' most celebrated disciples, and the most important woman disciple in the movement of Jesus. Jesus cleansed her of "seven demons", conventionally interpreted as referring to complex illnesses...
and has a peal of six bells.
A fragment of a wall painting on plaster
Plaster
Plaster is a building material used for coating walls and ceilings. Plaster starts as a dry powder similar to mortar or cement and like those materials it is mixed with water to form a paste which liberates heat and then hardens. Unlike mortar and cement, plaster remains quite soft after setting,...
, made for Captain Sparrow (1601–1651), at Park Farm, Hilton, probably around the time of his marriage in 1633, is now in the Victoria & Albert Museum, London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
. The fragment depicts two figures representing the sense
Sense
Senses are physiological capacities of organisms that provide inputs for perception. The senses and their operation, classification, and theory are overlapping topics studied by a variety of fields, most notably neuroscience, cognitive psychology , and philosophy of perception...
s of Taste
Taste
Taste is one of the traditional five senses. It refers to the ability to detect the flavor of substances such as food, certain minerals, and poisons, etc....
and Sight
Visual perception
Visual perception is the ability to interpret information and surroundings from the effects of visible light reaching the eye. The resulting perception is also known as eyesight, sight, or vision...
and was donated by David Garnett
David Garnett
David Garnett was a British writer and publisher. As a child, he had a cloak made of rabbit skin and thus received the nickname "Bunny", by which he was known to friends and intimates all his life.-Early life:...
and his wife Angelica Bell
Angelica Garnett
Angelica Vanessa Garnett is a British writer and painter.-Early life:She was the illegitimate daughter of the painters Duncan Grant and Vanessa Bell, sister of Virginia Woolf, and was a member of the Bloomsbury Group...
of Hilton Hall, who were members of the Bloomsbury Group
Bloomsbury Group
The Bloomsbury Group or Bloomsbury Set was a group of writers, intellectuals, philosophers and artists who held informal discussions in Bloomsbury throughout the 20th century. This English collective of friends and relatives lived, worked or studied near Bloomsbury in London during the first half...
.
Turf maze
On the village greenVillage green
A village green is a common open area which is a part of a settlement. Traditionally, such an area was often common grass land at the centre of a small agricultural settlement, used for grazing and sometimes for community events...
is a turf maze
Turf maze
Historically, a turf maze is a labyrinth made by cutting a convoluted path into a level area of short grass, turf or lawn. Some had names such as Mizmaze, Troy Town, The Walls of Troy, Julian's Bower, or Shepherd's Race...
(or labyrinth
Labyrinth
In Greek mythology, the Labyrinth was an elaborate structure designed and built by the legendary artificer Daedalus for King Minos of Crete at Knossos...
) some 55 ft (16.5 m) in diameter: a stone pillar at its centre records that the maze was cut by William Sparrow (1641–1729) in 1660. The Latin inscriptions, above and below a coat of arms
Coat of arms
A coat of arms is a unique heraldic design on a shield or escutcheon or on a surcoat or tabard used to cover and protect armour and to identify the wearer. Thus the term is often stated as "coat-armour", because it was anciently displayed on the front of a coat of cloth...
(presumably Sparrow's), reads "Sic transit gloria mundi" ("Thus the glory of the world passes away") "Gvlielmvs Sparrow, Gen., natvs ano. 1641. Aetatis svi 88 qvamdo obiit, hos gyros fornavit anno 1660" ("William Sparrow, Gentleman, born in the year 1641. Aged 88 when he died, he formed these circles in the year 1660"). The English one reads "William Sparrow departed this life the 25th August, Anno Domini 1729, aged 88 years".
Cathedral of Chartres
The French medieval Cathedral of Our Lady of Chartres is a Latin Rite Catholic cathedral located in Chartres, about southwest of Paris, is considered one of the finest examples of the French High Gothic style...
, laid in 1235. An illustration by W.H. Matthews in his "Mazes and Labyrinths" (1922) shows several paths leading to the central circle: the erection of the pillar at its centre, some 69 years after it had been cut, could have confused the design, or the paths may simply have become overgrown. Recent maintenance has made the maze conform to the standard medieval pattern.
It has been suggested that the young Sparrow might have recut the maze on the site of an earlier one which had become indistinct from lack of maintenance. There is no evidence to support this theory, but the dating of turf mazes is notoriously difficult. A turf maze of similar design, in the nearby village of Comberton
Comberton
Comberton is a village and civil parish in South Cambridgeshire, England, just east of the Prime Meridian.-History:Archaeological finds, including a Neolithic polished stone axe and a Bronze Age barrow , suggest there has been a settlement here for thousands of years. A Roman villa was discovered...
, was called "the Mazles". It no longer exists.
External links
- Hilton Official Village Web Site
- http://images.vam.ac.uk/ixbin/hixclient.exe?_IXSS_=%252asform%3dsearch_form%26%2524%253dIXOBJECT%3d%26_IXMAXHITS_%3d15%26%2524%253dop%3dAND%26_IXadv_%3d0%26%2524%253dIXMATERIAL%3d%26_IXDB_%3ddefault%26%2524%253dIXFROM%3d%26%2524%253dIXTO%3d%26%2524%253dIXALL%3dwall%2bpainting%2bhilton%26search%3dsearch%26%2524%253dIXPLACE%3d%26%2524%253dIXID%3d%26_IXSESSION_%3dAC1yYD47jgx%26%2524%253dIXNAME%3d&_IXSR_=ee1&_IXSPFX_=full/t&_IXMAXHITS_=1&_IXFIRST_=1&submit-button=summary&_IXSESSION_=AC1yYD47jgx&_IXNAME_=&_IXPLACE_=&_IXOBJECT_=&_IXMATERIAL_=&_IXID_=&_IXALL_=wall%20painting%20hilton&_IXFROM_=&_IXOP_=AND&_IXTO_=&_IXBAS_=&_IXadv_=0 The Hilton wall painting of Taste and Sight] (if this link fails, try http://images.vam.ac.uk/ and search for "Hilton wall painting")
- W.H. Matthews, "Mazes and Labyrinths" (1922) online version of this classic book
- Labyrinthos Jeff Saward's website
- Labyrinth Society