Ewelme and Swyncombe Down

The almshouses and church at Ewelme are delightful. The church contains the catafalque of Alice Chaucer, Duchess of Suffolk, and granddaughter of the poet, Geoffrey Chaucer. It is very finely carved and surrounded by knights and bishops. but to modern eyes, the carved cadaver in alabaster under the stone is more than gruesome. The church also has some great brasses and a font with an amazing cover. Flowers and an old well are found in the inner court of the almshouses. The church is faced with flints.

Swyncombe Down has a fine collection of chalk downland flora and butterflies.

Below is a Robin's Pincushion, caused by a gall wasp which lays its eggs in a bud of the dog-rose and results in demented growth, protecting the larvae.

Left, the amusingly named 'Picnic Thistle' a particularly short member of the large thistle family.
Below a raggy Meadow Brown. The others were too lively to photograph.

Left is a plant more commonly seen in gardens and seed catalogues, the wild Candytuft.


Far left is the Harebell, Campanula Rotundifolia.