Abandoned medieval Church & Youngsbury Burial Mounds (4K)

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A walk from Ware in Hertfordshire on the river Lea to Youngsbury and Thundridge in search of two Romano British burial mounds. The walk partly follows the Roman Ermine Street and takes in the abandoned old church at Thundridge / Thundridgebury.

The readings in the video are from 'On the Exploration of a Barrow at Youngsbury, Near Ware, Herts' by John Evans published in 1890 (thanks to Rupert Ferguson for the link).
Here's an extract from his report:
"The more eastern of the two barrows is recorded to have been opened a hundred years ago by Mr. David Barclay, the then owner of Youngsbury, and there is a tradition of spearheads, coins, and other objects having been found in it, none of which however are now forthcoming. According to Clutterbuck's account, it was nevertheless Roman pottery and coins that were found in the barrow, which he says proved it to be of Roman origin. Judging from the appearance of the barrow a shaft has been sunk in it from the top, but I am by no means sure that the original central interment has ever been reached. This barrow is of much the same dimensions as the other, the opening of which I am
about to describe, and in all probability it belongs to the same period.
Both barrows stand at the edge of a field known as the Hilly Field, and are partially overgrown with whitethorns and maples. On my arrival at Youngsbury,, by the kind invitation of Mr. Giles-Puller, on the 11th of June last, I found that a preliminary opening had been made in the upper part of the mound on the south side. At its outer end this cutting extended over about a sixth part of the circumference of the barrow, but its vertical sides converged so as to leave a face about 6 feet wide at what was apparently the centre of the mound, and at this point the cutting was about 9 feet in depth. The diameter of the barrow as nearly as could be judged is 60 feet, and the height about 12 feet above the surface of the adjoining field.
Clearing out the loose gravel and soil still further, a magnificent sepulchral urn became visible, lying slightly on one side. It had split into three principal sections and a few smaller fragments, but is in wonderfully good condition, and has been well repaired by Mr. Talbot Ready.
It is an olla formed of well-burnt grey ware, with a bold rim nearly an inch in depth round the opening, and its surface ornamented with parallel markings somewhat like corduroy. These at the neck are wavy, but on the body run in graceful curves. This ornamentation is by no means common, but is not unlike that which occurs on some Late-Celtic urns."

The footage of artefacts at the British Museum are of objects found in Roman / Romano British burials in London, Hertfordshire and Kent that roughly match the description of items found at the Youngsbury Tumuli and from a similar date (1-2 AD).

The old Ordnance Survey map is from the National Library of Scotland - Sheet 239 - Hertford (Outline) Publication date:  1896

Music:

The Sea Beneath Our Feet by Puddle of Infinity
Nevada City by Huma-Huma
Little Drunk, Quiet Floats by Puddle of Infinity
Breathing Planet by Doug Maxwell

shot on 22nd December 2018
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nice one mate. i wild camped next to the church ruins for halloween a couple of years ago (its on my channel) with some mates. very spooky there. apparently the name Cold Christmas comes from the story that during the Victorian era, lots of young children from the village died very young during a particularly cold winter and are mostly buried in the churchyard. if you read the headstones it proves this theory. whenever i go there and start filming, the wind picks up and the temperature drops, even in summer. it is definitely a spooky place. shame about the occultists though, a lot of vandalism has happened there. the police supposedly check on the church around halloween time, hence we had to be a bit stealthy when we camped there. The moat is part of the remains of the manor house. and yes you are right, those were the burial mounds belonging to the youngsburys, they owned the moated manor house there too. i think the old church was their private church.
been to ware too, did ware to hertford with my girlfriend back in the summer (still got to post the video). its a lovely area and you captured it so well as always!
i only live a few miles away in essex (close to harlow). if you would be interested in doing a day walk together sometime, give me a message mate, as we tend to explore the same areas.
hope you had a good christmas, and happy new year pal! ATB Tom.

TOM_OUTDOORS
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What a wonderful walk. It was a fantastic opportunity to think about the people who came before us and appreciate the beauty of the landscape. Bravo!!!!

mheuman
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My day has just got better, thanks for another great adventure 👍👍

oldschool
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Howdy from Texas brother, thanks for showing me our old homeland! It does pull at me all the way across the Atlantic🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 Long and good health to you!

THINKincessantly
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I am new, Dave from Cruising the Cut recommended you and I am so glad he did. Enjoyed this so very much. Like someone else said it almost as good as being there. Thanks so much.

joenperkins
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Nice to see someone else taking interest in our history and indigenous culture. It's fascinating. Nice info and enthusiasm

RambloManiacs
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Next best thing to being there in person - thanks John!

stevedeininger
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I live in Ware and I have done this walk and many other walks like it and I am very glad that you came here. Thank you for the amazing videos this year and here's to an even better 2019. :)

JTSCT
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Lovely Town Ware beautiful buildings thanks for sharing such a wonderful video John enjoyed very much.

briancox
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Really enjoyed your video. A great local history walk. Loved your delivery and the perfect background music made for a relaxing yet thoroughly entertaining video. Thank you!

easthertsradio
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I visited Thundridge a few weeks ago with my girlfriend. The place is very atmospheric and has several ghost stories attached to it - groans from the tower, the cries of children in the churchyard and phantom soldiers emerging from the tower itself. I grew up in Enfield and have been watching your videos with interest - especially the ones that cover places I've visited myself as a child. I see you were on London Live. I appeared on there myself to promote a film by Jason Figgis on Simon Marsden, the photographer. Jason watches your films too and enjoys them as much as I do.

Cromwellp
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There is so much history in Ware. I'm from Ware and for the last few years I have been researching the town and its surrounding areas. Everything from the Wickham factory to the old Work House, not forgetting the railway network.
3:46 A beautiful view of Moles Farm, I going to miss that place (council are building around 500 new homes the land which is on Ware's greenbelt. A lot of people are in uproar about this, but the council won't listen).
Amazing video mate, really enjoyed it!

jamiewarwick
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You do get to some places John. Thank you for taking us along with you. Have great year ahead.

paulmorris
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Hi John, I've been watching your channel for a while now and it really is a balm to the soul.

I've also searched out a couple of your recommendations and was particularly taken by Patrick Keillers London which to me had very much a St Etienne Finisterre feel about it

I live in Cape Town in South Africa and your channel has challenged me to somehow try to do something like what you do over here sometime

Once again thanks for your excellent filmed excursions.

julianbailey
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just enjoyed your walk.your love of English history etc shines through.i am glad I found you via crusing the cut vlog.we need more people like you to keep our history alive.happy new year to you.

earlmarshall
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And a massive 'thank you' to you, John.

robinbeckford
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Thanks so much for all your walk films this year John - really enjoy walking with you and getting to know the landscape

ghpalm
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I'm so glad that I stumbled across your channel John as I am totally obsessed with small rivers and barraws/prehistoric landscape these videos a such a joy and fascinating for me to watch absolutely fantastic.

darrenrobson
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As a first time viewer of your site all I can say is brilliant and interesting. Makes you want to going out and produce your own docuvlogs. There is so much local history on our door step that we don't always see it. Thanks.

colinhothersall
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My memories of this walk are without the bypass and this is the first time I've seen where the A10 cuts through the landscape. The sound of traffic has changed the area so much - our family walks were accompanied by the sound of pheasant and jackdaws, the clip-clop of horses too.

Julia-gxis