This section in The Stripling Thames by Fred Thacker
Village on left bank, 1.2 miles.
Maps
1796: Stanton Harcourt, Boydell’s History of the Thames -
Stanton Harcourt. June 1, 1793. J.
Farington R.A. delt. J.C. Stadler sculpt.
(Published) by J. & J. Boydell, Shakespeare Gally.
Pall Mall & (No. 90) Cheapside (London).
A Striking Story!
It was in the early 1700s that Alexander Pope was there, hard at work on his Homer.
Sir Joshua Reynolds said of Pope -
… about four feet six high; very humpbacked and deformed …
Maynard Mack:-
… afflicted with constant headaches, sometimes so severe that he could barely see the paper he wrote upon, frequent violent pain at bone and muscle joints...shortness of breath, increasing inability to ride horseback or even walk for exercise....
1718: Alexander Pope wrote to Lady Mary Wortley:
I have a mind to fill the rest of this paper with an accident
that happened just under my eyes, and has made a great impression upon me.
I have just passed part of this summer at an
old romantic seat of my Lord Harcourt’s, which he has lent me;
it overlooks a common field, where, under
the shadow of a haycock, sat two lovers, as constant as ever were found in romance,
beneath a spreading beech. The name of the one, let it sound as it will, was
John Hewett, the other Sarah Drew.
John was a well-set man, about five-and-twenty; Sarah a brown woman of eighteen.
John had for several months borne the labour
of the day in the same field with Sarah;
when she milked it was his morning and evening charge to bring the cows
to her pail. Their love was the talk,
but not the scandal of the neighbourhood, for all they aimed at was the
blameless possession of each other in marriage.
It was but this very morning that he obtained her parents’
consent, and it was but till the next week that they were to wait to be
happy. Perhaps this very day, in the
intervals of their work, they were talking of their wedding clothes, and John
was now matching several kinds of poppies and field flowers to her complexion,
to make her a present of knots for the day.
While they were thus employed (it was on the last day of July),
a terrible storm of thunder and lightning arose, and drove the labourers to
what shelter the trees or hedges afforded. Sarah, frightened and out of breath,
sunk on a haycock, and John (who never separated from her) sat by her side,
having raked two or three heaps together to secure her.
Immediately there was heard so loud a crack as if heaven had
burst asunder. The labourers, all
solicitous for each other’s safety, called to one another; those who were
nearest our lovers, hearing no answer, stepped to the place where they
lay.
They first saw a little smoke, and
after, this faithful pair – John with one arm about Sarah’s neck, and the other
held over her face, as if to screen her from the lightning. They were dead. There was no mark or discolouring on their bodies, only that Sarah’s
eyebrow was a little singed, and a small spot between her breasts.
They were buried next day in one grave, in
the parish of Stanton Harcourt, where my Lord Harcourt, at my request, has
erected a monument over them.
Pope himself provided the epitaph -
Stanton Harcourt Memorial (lettering enhanced)
1909: In the Stripling Thames Fred Thacker commented on the size of the lettering "CONTRACTED IN MARIAGE" -
Was it necessary by the size of the lettering to arouse quite such furious speculation? for the poor creatures were subjected after their death to much scandalous talk. Pope wrote in a letter that "a young man and woman were lately destroyed here by lightning; and the country people are hardly in charity with their minister for allowing them Christian burial. They cannot get it out of their heads but it was a judgement of God."
Alexander Pope's kind friends dissuaded him from using his first attempt -
When Eastern lovers feed the fun’ral fire,
On the same pile their faithful fair expire;
Here pitying heav’n that virtue mutual found,
And blasted both that it might neither wound.
Hearts so sincere th’Almighty saw well pleas’d,
Sent his own lightning and the victims seiz’d.
So the unfortunate couple became doubly unfortunate in that they ended up with his second attempt -
Think not by rig’rous judgement seized,
A pair so faithful could expire;
Victims so pure heav’n saw well pleas’d
And snatch’d them in celestial fire.
Live well, and fear no sudden fate;
When God calls virtue to the grave,
Alike ‘tis justice, soon or late,
Mercy alike to kill or save.
Virtue unmov’d can hear the call,
And face the flash that melts the ball.
That last line - no – no surely not, not
in the 1700s – they were innocent then … and yet Alexander Pope then wrote to
Lady Mary Wortley
(whose husband had been ambassador to Turkey until, as Edith
Sitwell says in Pope’s biography “it was felt the Turks had suffered enough”),
and challenged her to do better. She
replied with an epitaph with certainly one very crude line.
She was not a romantic -
Here lies John Hewett and Sarah Drew;
Perhaps you’ll say, what’s that to you?
Believe me friend, much may be said,
On this poor couple that are dead.
On Sunday next they should have married;
But see how oddly things are carried!
On Thursday last it rained and lighten’d,
These tender lovers, sadly frighten’d,
Shelter’d beneath the cocking hay,
In hopes to pass the time away;
But the bold thunder found them out
(Commission’d for that end no doubt);
And seizing on their trembling breath
Consign’d them to the shades of death.
Who knows if ‘twas not kindly done?
For had they seen the next year’s sun,
A beaten wife and cuckold swain
Had jointly curs’d the marriage chain;
Now they are happy in their doom,
For Pope has writ upon their tomb.
Mind you Pope himself could compete in the non-romantic stakes -
Here lie two poor lovers, who had the mishap
Although very chaste people, to die of the Clap!
[ Last time I punted past Stanton Harcourt in a heavy thunderstorm holding a 20’ aluminium pole in wet hands this story was more worrying than romantic! ]
Here lie John Hewett and Sarah Drew;
A country story of pure lovers true.
The lightning mocked their lovers' hopes.
And biggest shock - their epitaph was Pope's!
JCE
Introduction
Estuary
PLA
QEII Br
Barrier
Tower Br
Custom Ho
London Br
; Frost Fairs
Cannon St Rb
The Great Stink
Southwark Br
Millenium Br
Blackfriars Rb
Blackfriars Br
Waterloo Br
Charing Cross Rb
Westminster Br
Lambeth Br
Vauxhall Br
Victoria Rb
Chelsea Br
Albert Br
Battersea Br
Battersea Rb
Wandsworth Br
Fulham Rb
Putney Br
Hammersmith Br
Barnes Rb
Chiswick Br
Kew Rb
Kew Br
RICHMOND
Twickenham Br
Richmond Rb
Richmond Br
TEDDINGTON
Kingston Rb
Kingston Br
Ditton Slip
Hampton Br
MOLESEY
SUNBURY
Walton Br
Desborough Cut
SHEPPERTON
Chertsey Br
CHERTSEY
M3 Br
Laleham Slip
PENTON HOOK
Staines Rb
Staines Br
Runnymede Br
BELL WEIR
Magna Carta Is
OLD WINDSOR
Albert Br
Datchet
Victoria Br
Black Potts Rb
ROMNEY
Eton
Windsor Br
Windsor Rb
Windsor Slip
Elizabeth Br
BOVENEY
Dorney Lake
York Cut
Summerleaze Fb
MonkeyIsland
New Thames Br
BRAY
Bray Slip
Maidenhead Rb
Maidenhead Br
Below Boulters
BOULTERS
Cliveden
Hedsor
COOKHAM
Cookham Slip
Cookham Br
BourneEnd RFb
Quarry Woods
A404 Br
MARLOW
Marlow Br
Bisham
TEMPLE
HURLEY
Medmenham
Culham Ct
Aston Slip
HAMBLEDEN
Temple Is
Fawley Ct
Remenham
Regatta
Phyllis Ct
Henley Slip
Leander
Red Lion
Henley Br
Angel on Br
Landing
Hobbs Boatyard
Hobbs Slipway
MARSH
Hennerton
Bolney
Wargrave
Shiplake Rb
R.Loddon
SHIPLAKE
Sonning Br
SONNING
Dreadnought
K&A Canal
CAVERSHAM
Reading Br
Caversham Br
Reading Slip
Purley
MAPLEDURHAM
Hardwick Ho
Whitchurch Br
WHITCHURCH
Hartswood Reach
Gatehampton Rb
Goring Gap
Goring Br
GORING
Swan
CLEEVE
Moulsford
Moulsford Rb
Papist Way Slip
Winterbrook Br
Wallingford Br
BENSON
Shillingford Br
R.Thame
DAYS
Burcot
Clifton Hampden
Clifton Church
Clifton H Br
Barley Mow
Long Wittenham
CLIFTON
Appleford Rb
Sutton Courtenay
Sutton Br
CULHAM
Culham Cut Fb
Abingdon Slip
Abingdon
Abingdon Br
ABINGDON
Nuneham Rb
Nuneham
Nuneham Park
Radley Boats
SANDFORD
Rose Island
Kennington Rb
Isis Br
Iffley Mill
IFFLEY
Oxford Rowing
Isis
Donnington Br
Riverside Slip
Boathouses
Punting
Lower Cherwell
Upper Cherwell
Islip
Head of River
Salters Steamers
Folly Br
Bacons Folly
Oxford Fb
Osney Fb
Weir stream
Osney Rb
Bullstake Stream
Osney Marina
OSNEY
Osney Br
Four Rivers
OLD RIVER
CANAL
Medley Weir Site
Medley Fb
Bossoms
Perch
Trout
GODSTOW
Godstow Nunnery
Godstow Br
Thames Br
KINGS
River Evenlode
EYNSHAM
Swinford Br
Oxford Cruisers
PINKHILL
Farmoor
Stanton Harcourt
Bablock Slip
Arks Weir Site
NORTHMOOR
Harts Fb
Rose Revived
Newbridge
Maybush
River Windrush
below Shifford
SHIFFORD
Shifford Fb
Tenfoot Fb
Trout Inn
Tadpole Br
RUSHEY
Old Mans Fb
RADCOT
Radcot Cradle Fb
Swan Inn
Radcot New Br
Radcot Old Br
GRAFTON
Eaton Hastings
Kelmscott
Eaton Fb
BUSCOT
Bloomers Hole Fb
Trout Inn
St Johns Br
ST JOHNS
Halfpenny Br
Marina Slip
LIMIT
Inglesham
Hannington Br
Kempsford
Castle Eaton Br
Marston Meysey
A419 Br
Cricklade
SOURCE?
THAMES HEAD
SEVEN SPRINGS