Last week, Rye News reported on the new storm in Winchelsea’s village tea cup (Verge Dispute Ends in Surprise). Mr Anthony Jasper, the owner of The Armoury, a historic house in Castle Street in Winchelsea, had objected to tours by the Winchelsea Archaeological Society (WAS) looking at his house and standing on the verge outside, claiming owership of the verges and dismissing the tourists as plebs. Readers will recall that the WAS checked with East Sussex Highways that the verges were part of the public highway. They discovered that, not only were the verges part of the public highway but so was Mr Jasper’s front garden!
The Rye News report was quickly picked up by the Daily Telegraph and even Radio 4’s “Today” programme. The Telegraph ran an article on Monday entitled “Pensioner’s battle with ‘pleb’ tourists ruining his elevenses“. The article included an interview with Mr Jasper. According to the Telegraph, Mr Jasper said that the tour groups were of too “plebeian composition” to understand whatever they were being lectured about.
The interview produced another surprise in the saga. Mr Jasper complained to the Telegraph that the tours “start at 11 o’clock and we have elevenses, so they are all there and they say, ‘Oh look, there are people and they are eating!'”
WAS responded that they actually start their tours at 2pm. There are tours starting at 11am but these are run by a group called FOAM, which raises funds for Winchelsea’s unelected Corporation. It would seem that Mr Jasper complained to the wrong organisation!
The next WAS tour in Winchelsea (which includes the medieval cellars of the town) is scheduled for Monday August 29 at 2pm. The Armoury is included.
Photo: Richard Comotto
Elevenses! Can imagine hoards of tourists are going to turn up to see whether, like Winnie-the-Pooh, honey with bread and condensed milk is being taken, or if Paddington Bear’s mid morning arrangement with Mr Gruber whereby the bear would bring buns and the shopkeeper provided cocoa is the preferred menu? Intriguing!
Or is it in fact a chance to slip into something from Elevenses, the brand name used by the American http://www.anthopologie.com for its rather nice ladies’ fashion clothing?