Dieulacres Abbey and the power of Dreams

2014 is the 800^th anniversary of the founding of Dieulacres Abbey near Leek. How the Abbey was established in Leek is a fascinating story. It is a story of how a dream caused a medieval baron to build a monastery beside the Churnet. Ranulph the Earl of Chester dreamt that his grandfather Ranulph de Gernon visited him one night. He told his grandson to found an Abbey on the site of a former chapel to the Virgin Mary which the Earl did. He was a generous benefactor providing the monks with ample funds. The spirit told the Earl to transfer monks from a settlement in Cheshire on the Welsh border. The monastery at Poulton had suffered from Welsh raids, although only established about 50 years earlier. The monks welcomed the invitation of Ranulph to move to Staffordshire. How the Leek monastery got its name is equally an interesting story. When Ranulph told his wife about his vision and the proposed foundation she exclaimed in French: 'Deux encres'— 'May God grant it increase'. Ranulph then fixed the name of the place as 'Dieulacres' and gave it this name when he laid the foundation stone of the abbey in 1214. Dieulacres was a central part of the local community for the next three hundred years.

To the medieval mind a dream could either be interpreted as a message from God leading the recipient on a spiritual path or more darkly an attempt by a night demon to invade sleep. The Anglo Saxon word “mare” in nightmare means “demon”.

 Dreams continued to interest commentators into  modern times although we had to wait for Freud to attempt a systematic analysis. I was drawn to a recent article in New Scientist on the ability to manipulate dreams. In the 1950s a researcher at Chicago noticed Rapid Eye Movements during sleep signifying a time of intense brain activity when dreaming occurs. When people were awakened during this time they were able to tell researchers of their dreams. Taking this a step forward a psychologist as devised an app on a smart phone that could control dreams. The subject sets an alarm and a soundscape, such as walk beside the sea and then falls asleep. The app detects when the person is in deep sleep from breathing and movement patterns and plays the chosen soundscape. Once awake the individual recounts the dream and there is usually a strong correlation between the soundscape and the dream.

Further analysis has revealed that most dreams involve a playing out of some anxiety. They are the result of the mind attempting to deal with everyday worries by reinterpreting incidents. Scientists have found an interesting insight into the dreams of those diagnosed with depressive illness. These dreams are frequently negative and on waking the individual feels sad and dispirited, but those depressives who could alter the direction of their dreams to result in a more positive outcome recovered and eventually recovered their wellness.

Drawing together Ranulph’s experience of a dream that led him on a path of spiritual fulfilment and the modern hope that dreams can be influenced to improve well being it seems that they can play a role in determining our sense of completeness.

Bees in Staffordshire

One of the pleasures of rooting around the William Salt Library is coming across an arcane article in the many volumes of deliberations of the Staffordshire Field Club. I found a piece on the history of bee keeping in Staffordshire, the article dated from the 1930s.

It seems that the first reference to bee keeping in the county occurs in the reign of King Stephen in the 1130s when travelling expenses for the king’s entourage through Staffordshire includes sums of money for local honey for the production of mead. It also seems to have been important in Leek, with 5s. raised by the sale of honey from the manor in 1185 .  Honey bees were also maintained by religious communities in monasteries such as Croxden mainly for the wax they produced. From this beeswax candles were produced; these were far superior to the candles made from tallow used by the general population. By the time of the Tudors two early writers on agricultural practice in Staffordshire commentated on bee keeping. Fitzherbert in 1534 is quoted “he that hath sheep and swine and hyve slepe he, wake he, thrive he”. During Elizabeth’s reign William Harrison described local hives as being made of “rye straw and wattled around with bramble quarters, but some are made of wicket”. One of the first historians of Staffordshire Doctor Robert Plot writing in the 1680s believed that Staffordshire hives differed from those elsewhere as they were made from osier twigs woven into basket like shapes and covered with dried mud and cow dung. In the 17th century one of the principle apiarist of the area John Rudyard of Dieulacres near Leek had many hives in the area covered by a straw hackle to keep off the rain.

One of the giants of 19th century bee keeping was Edward Bevan who was born in London in 1770 became medically qualified and served as a doctor in Stoke in the early 19^th century. He later moved to Congleton, but his “magnum opus” on apiary and their upkeep was published in 1827, “The honey bee; its natural history, physiology, and management”. Later editions were dedicated to a great admirer and fellow bee keeper Queen Victoria. Like Izaak Walton on fishing or Augustus Whiffle on pigs it is a book that has never been out of print. In his obituary Bevan was described as resembling Mr Pickwick. “He will always remain a shining example of excellent work done by the shy, retiring man”. I am surprised that the work of this sterling character is not more widely recognised in the Potteries. His fame has lasted 150 years after his death. I wonder if any of the celebrity names that are banded about now such as Robbie Williams will be known by the cognoscenti 150 years after they leave the stage?

Today the tradition of bee keeping is kept alive with a local bee keeping association meeting monthly in Leek. There are serious issues around the collapse of bee numbers which is a matter of concern as the insect role as a pollinator is vital for the growth of food on which humans as well as other species need to survive.

JRR Tolkien died 40 years ago this month

In September 1973 JRR Tolkien died. The creator of the Lord of the Ring trilogy was well known in North Staffordshire. His eldest son John was the parish priest at Hartshill and led the funeral service for his father. John Tolkien commented that his father was last in Stoke in Easter and had spent many Christmas’s at the presbytery. The Sentinel carried a picture of JRR sitting on a bench at Kibblestone Scout camp taken in the early 70s.

 He did have strong connections with Staffordshire predating John’s position as a local priest as he lived in Great Haywood in 1916 while convalescing from wounds received whilst fighting on the Somme.

Tolkien’s reputation as the creator of Middle Earth and the Hobbits remains very high nearly 40 years after his death. In 2003 in the BBC Big Read survey the Lord of the Rings was voted Britain’s best-loved book. I read the book in 1975 appropriately enough besides the fjords of Norway.

Tolkien did claim in a radio interview in the 50s that he also knew the Leek area and that a boy he stayed in Leek with his parents at the George Hotel. The hotel was demolished in the late 60s.

An intriguing question exists over the medieval poem “ Sir Gawain and the Green Knight” written, it is alleged by someone who knew Leek and the Roaches well. Tolkien worked on the translation of the poem in the 20s

 The first references to Lud’s Church being associated with the Green Chapel, to my knowledge, only happen after the publication of a letter by Professor RWV Eliot’s to the Times on 21^st May 1958. He linked the poem with the Cistercian Abbey of Dieulacres beside the River Churnet about 1 mile from Leek. Some however believe that JRR also knew the legend.

The creator of the Lord of the Rings trilogy remained proud of his West Midlands associations. In a letter to the “New York Times” Tolkien described the geographic inspiration for the books the third and final volume of which was to be published in October 1955.

“ I am a West Midlander at home only in the counties upon the Welsh Marches; and it is I believe , as much due to descent as to opportunity than Anglo Saxon and Western Middle English and alliterative verse have a childhood attraction and my main professional sphere”