Monday 20 June 2011

Adventures in a graveyard, Part 2

Dr Elizabeth Boyle writes:

Following my adventure in search of the memorial cross erected at St Fintan's church, Sutton, Co. Dublin, to the Celtic scholar, Whitley Stokes (1830-1909), I decided to find the place where he is actually buried, in Paddington Old Cemetery, London. I was particularly interested to see whether his gravestone was similar in style, or whether it bore a similar inscription, to the cross at St Fintan's.

Stokes' memorial cross at St Fintan's, Sutton, Co. Dublin
Paddington Old Cemetery is located in the diverse district of Kilburn, north of Kensington (where Stokes lived after returning from India in 1882 until his death in 1909).

Paddington Old Cemetery, London
I found Stokes' grave in somewhat better condition than some of the others in its vicinity. The cross was indeed in the Celtic Revival style, although notably less ornate than the memorial cross at Sutton.
 grave of Whitley Stokes (1830-1909), Paddington Old Cemetery
 The inscription was also quite different from that at St Fintan's. First, there was no indication of Stokes' profession or scholarly interests.Where the St Fintan's cross had described him as 'Jurist, Scholar and Philologist', his London gravestone gave only the spare details of his name and dates, reflecting perhaps the more private, family-oriented nature of the memorial, as opposed to the more public, or scholarly, nature of the Sutton cross. The quotation chosen for the inscription was also quite different in tone. Where the St Fintan's cross stated:
DIE WAHRHEIT RUHT IN GOTT
UNS BLEIBT DAS FORSCHEN
('Truth lies with God; for us remains Research')
the Paddington memorial gave a biblical quotation, from Philippians 4:8:
WHATSOEVER THINGS ARE TRUE. WHATSOEVER THINGS
ARE HONEST. WHATSOEVER THINGS ARE JUST.
WHATSOEVER THINGS ARE PURE. WHATSOEVER THINGS
ARE LOVELY. WHATSOEVER THINGS ARE OF GOOD
REPORT. IF THERE BE ANY VIRTUE, AND IF THERE BE
ANY PRAISE, THINK ON THESE THINGS.

Stokes grave inscription
The overall effect was simple, but quite moving, and in striking contrast to the form and content of the St Fintan's memorial.  But having found Stokes' grave I decided that the next challenge would be to find his house. So I left Kilburn, and set off towards one of London's most affluent districts:

Grenville Place, Kensington
Perhaps rather fittingly, Stokes' home at 15 Grenville Place technically no longer exists, since 14 and 15 Grenville Place have been knocked together and turned into separate flats. However, the house still retains the impressive frontage, including the front door (no longer in use), which it would have had in Stokes' day. 
 
 15 Grenville Place, Kensington, formerly the home of Whitley Stokes (1830-1909)

In Stokes' time, as now, this was a prosperous part of London, and emphasises the wealth which Stokes accumulated during his time as a colonial jurist in British India, where he became President of the India Law Commission. A stark contrast indeed to the penniless young barrister who had to sell his furniture in order to buy his passage to India in 1862, and a reminder of the more problematic moral complexities of the life of Ireland's greatest Celtic scholar.

Tuesday 14 June 2011

ASNC Open Day 2011

The next ASNC Open Day will take place on 29th June. All those interested in applying to study ASNC - and their parents/guardians - are welcome, but booking is essential: further details and the booking form can be found on the ASNC website. Lecturers in ASNC will give brief introductory talks on aspects of the ASNC Tripos, and there will be a visit to the Parker Library, Corpus Christi College, to see some Anglo-Saxon and Celtic manuscripts.

Dr Fiona Edmonds addresses a previous Open Day audience

Friday 3 June 2011

ASNC in the media

Dr Elizabeth Ashman Rowe, University Lecturer in Scandinavian History of the Medieval Period, was one of Melvyn Bragg's guests on In Our Time on Radio 4 yesterday. The episode discussed the Battle of Stamford Bridge (1066). You can listen to the programme (for the next few days only) via the BBC's iplayer.

Dr Emily Lethbridge, Honorary Research Associate in ASNC, who is currently travelling around Iceland, visiting the sites of Old Norse saga literature, was interviewed for Radio Cambridgeshire. Again, you can listen to the interview via the BBC's iplayer (starts at 16:40), and follow Emily's journey via her blog.