The Henson Journals

[235]

Tuesday, July 25th, 1922.

The letter copied on p. 210 of this Journal has been published in "the Scottish Chronicle" (July 21st, 1922.) under the heading "The Bishop of Durham on Confirmation". It will no doubt exasperate the Scottish Episcopalians.

Brillioth and I left the castle shortly before 11 a.m., and motored to Edmundbyers, where we picked up Dolphin, & then proceeded to the Roman Wall. We lunched by the roadside, not far from Chesters, and then continued on our way to Borcoviens, where we made a thorough inspection of the Wall. We returned to Chesters & visited the Museum &c. Then we went to Edmundbyers, & had tea in the Rectory. We motored to Hunstanworth, where I preached in the parish church. This parish is about 1200 feet above sea level, sat in the middle of lovely country. The return journey was successful until we reached Stanhope. There the car refused to travel. I called up Shaddick, who was very helpful. He showed our need to his neighbour, a doctor called Gray, who sent us back to Auckland in his car. We arrived about 11.30 p.m. We left William at work on the car in the doctor's garage, assisted by Frank Berry who had accompanied us on our expedition. This untoward behaviour of the car spoiled a very pleasant day. The weather was favourable throughout. Nothing could exceed the beauty of the moorland as it appeared in the evening light when we motored homeward from Hunstanworth to Stanhope.

[235]

Dolphin observed that birds hardly ever come into collision with motors, although in the early days of motoring it was a common experience of the motorist to kill birds in that way: and he suggested as an explanation of the change that the motors having largely driven horses off the roads, there was now no motive for the birds that they should haunt them since there were no droppings to provide food as in former times. This seems reasonable, and more probable than the notion that the birds had learned prudence.

The custom of this country is to collect the hay into substantial "stooks", or "pikes", which remain in the field for considerable periods, & then are carried away bodily on low "coster–carts" to be properly stacked. I enquired of Mr Hillyard what the reason of this practice might be, & he replied that hay was the main crop of the district (Weardale), that the farmers were often unable to cut and carry their hay at once, and so placed it on "pikes" which would take little time to arrange, and would preserve the hay from damage by the weather. The "pike" is a labour saving and crop preserving device. I suppose that the practice, based on rational grounds in Weardale, has spread to other districts where hay is no more than a minor crop, & there it survives by the force of local custom.

Both the Vicars in whose churches I preached on Sunday write to thank me for doing so. There is, perhaps, more importance than it is altogether easy to understand in the visit of the Bishop to these small parishes, where a full church is the rarest of spectacles.

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