Welcome to the new look Newsletter of the Friends

of Arundells. We hope it

will be of interest to you and give you an insight

into the continuing work

of the Friends and some of the personalities involved

in fighting to save Arun-

dells for the nation.

Following the meeting of

the Friends on 22nd Sep-

tember a Committee was formed with Tony Burn-

side as President. Gerald

Gibbons was elected as deputy chairman / chair-

man elect. Bob Hayes and Jim Humberstone have

agreed to become vice

chairmen. There is still one vacancy on the com-

mittee. The first commit-

tee meeting has been held in order to continue the

stirling work Tony has done. He has developed

the Friends of Arundells to such an extent that he felt

the organisation would

now be more efficiently

run by a Committee.

Tony has worked tire-

lessly for the Friends and

was ready to take a back seat once the Committee

took over. However, he was persuaded to become

President of the Friends

and will be a valuable consultant to the Commit-

tee as we move forward

into the next stage of the

campaign.

This edition of the News-

letter contains the thoughts and observations

of some of the Volunteers

who have given up their time this summer every

Thursday to open the

House to the public for an

extra day.

As the newly appointed Editor of the Newsletter I

would welcome contribu-

tions, letters, comments from any of the Friends

from far and near. Contact

details are on the back page and the closing date

for copy for the January

issue is 10th December.

The Newsletter is de-

signed and published by

another volunteer, Ron Carter, whose skills will

be evident to you from

this edition’s excellent

presentation.

Stevie Paul … Editor.

NEW BEGINNINGS

The Present is Rooted in the Past

When I am asked why I am so passionate about

Arundells my natural re-

sponse is to say that it is an important part of our

heritage and there is a real

danger that Sir Edward’s wishes will not be upheld.

On reflection this provides an insufficient rationale

from someone who has allowed the Arundell’s

campaign to develop into

a full time occupation!

I have to go back nearly half a century to the Gen-

eral Election of 1964

when, as a thirteen year

old working class lad, I witnessed Ted Heath pass-

ing by our council house

in Bexley Road - standing up in his open top car

waving to the voters as he

made his way to Erith Town Hall to pay in his

£150 deposit. While my

contemporaries wore the

Contd. on page 2

Supported by:

Tony Benn

Dame Elisabeth Hoodless

Robert Buckland MP

Robert Walter MP

Neil Carmichael MP

Geoffrey Howe

Charles Kennedy MP

John Glen MP for Salisbury -

An introduction to a Vice Chairman 2

September meeting of the Friends 3

On volunteering at Arundells 4

A view from the back stair 4

Notes from the house and garden 5

The wider vision 5

Arundells and The Close connection 6

Inside this issue:

Ne

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F

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s o

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Wo

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Aru

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Na

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Issue 15

November 2012

blue rosette of Chelsea FC, this chance glance of the drama of a passing exuber-

ant politician was to ignite a lifelong

passion for politics in me.

I only met Edward Heath on four occa-sions but collectively these have had a

profound effect. The first occasion was

1974, mid way between two turbulent General Elections that ousted Ted from

his premiership and finally sealed his political fate. The photographer of the

local Walsall rag captured us in an in-

tense and animated conversation about election strategy where I am seen rebuk-

ing him with a pointed finger!

By 1976 Heath, deposed as party leader,

had found a new role for himself in

touring the country and contributing to by- election successes. At the end of one

such rally in the famous Walsall North

by–election there was, by chance, an-other brief encounter. On leaving the

hall Heath, confident and avuncular,

noticed me wearing a huge election rosette. He changed direction and

marched up to me and said with shoul-ders shaking and to the amusement of

the crowded foyer “If your effort is as

big as your rosette we will win this

seat!”

Just twenty years after that first sighting

of Edward Heath in 1964, the former

Prime Minister and European Statesman came to Dudley to support me in my

campaign to win a seat in the European Parliament. It was the proudest moment

of my life to share a public platform

with my political mentor.

The last time I met Heath was in Canter-

bury when he was on tour giving a lec-

ture and promoting his book. He was now an elder statesman, grave in tone

and somewhat intimidating. I was the

last person in the book signing queue but had not the courage to remind him

of our previous encounters. From the 1990s Sir Edward Heath had become

my political compass, providing clarity

of direction on the great political issues

of the day.

Tony Burnside, President of The

Friends of Arundells.

Page 2

An Introduction to a Vice Chairman

NEWS LET TER

Those who know me at Arundells see

me by now, I think as good humoured and slightly gregarious in my manner

but most know little of my back-

ground. As a new Vice Chairman I thought it was time to make others

aware of who I am and why I joined the

Friends.

In my early 60’s I have lived in Salis-

bury for all of my adult life, happily

married to Ann now for more than forty years. We have a son, James, of 31 and

a married daughter, Claire of 34, both in successful careers and living locally

in their own homes. I’ve been involved

with a number of local activities over the past years, including being Chair-

man of the Salisbury Swimming Club

for more than 5 years over the Mille-

nium.

In 2010 I decided to pull away from

my career in the packaging manufactur-ing industry to work as a consultant to

the industry, giving me the ability to

work at my own pace and style but more importantly, the pressures of

modern day commercial life at Director

level is a great strain and my own posi-

tion was suffering from the peculiar and unwelcome domination of new French

company ownership. So I took early

retirement, classifying myself now as semi-retired. A lot of my spare time is

now taken up with my deep involve-ment with Sarum St.Martins Church,

Salisbury as Church Warden and I am

now also looking forward to giv-ing more of my time to working

on behalf of the Friends.

I have worked in association with many European companies and

various delightful Italian, Span-

ish, German and Dutch colleagues since the 1980’s and so have become indoc-

trinated into the European commercial

scene. This is why I connected to, and approved of, Sir Edward’s great ac-

complishment of taking Great Britain into the European Community. Despite

that I had previously disapproved of

him during his term as Prime Minister. We were married in 1971 and suffered

in the dark days of power strikes!

However, I instantly changed my mind having visited Arundells during 2008. I

had my eyes opened to his greatness

and later on, through reading the biog-

raphy by Philip Zeigler, I became even more aware of Sir Edward’s skills and

abilities.

When the media started announcing the

possible closure of Arundells I was in-censed and then , to my surprise and

delight, Tony Burn-side opened the win-

dow to possibilities, I

announced to my wife that I was going to

contact Tony immedi-

ately.

The rest is history but I must add that I

am delighted to have met so many ex-

tremely nice people in my fellow volun-teers. All are extremely dedicated to this

cause, like me, and I enjoy every minute

we are all together. Well done to you all and let’s keep up the fight to keep Arun-

dells open.

Bob Hayes … Joint Vice Chairman.

I am delighted to

have met so many

extremely nice people

in my fellow volun-

teers

I SS UE 15

How do you get 40 + people into a vil-

lage cricket pavilion/hall?

You take a warm September Saturday, a

good lunch, excellent organisation, a witty and intelligent chairman and a

common purpose.

At this first meeting of the Friends of

Arundells, I found it very useful, as one

not in the original group, to learn of the beginnings of this association and how

it has progressed to its present state. The number of Friends and the distances

from which several had travelled was

amazing.

It was clear that the overriding raison d’etre was to help to fulfil the wishes of

Sir Edward Heath, for the future of

Arundells, as outlined in his will. It brought to mind a quote from EH made

in a speech in 1970 – “We may be a small island, but we are not a small peo-

ple”, this seems to me to be an apt de-

scription of the Friends unselfish moti-vation and that pulling together with

the Trustees and other parties will pro-

duce the right outcome. Perhaps this positive magnitude of effort had a bear-

ing upon the recent success of the host-ing of both Olympic Games; I under-

stand the bid was successful not least

because of its emphasis on legacy.

Some common ground here?

I am able to volunteer only once a

month at Arundells and have always looked forward eagerly to my duties on

Thursdays. I have the happiest, most

enjoyable, informative and at times laughter filled experience with col-

leagues and many members of the pub-

lic. The house appears to have an aura of charm and delight that affects guides

and visitors alike. Especially notable are our pianists whose talents always entice

visitors to the drawing room. We know

the visitors enjoy their experience from the comments they make in the book

and that they have a strong appetite to

keep the house open. They wish others to have the opportunity to enjoy the

house and contents too. It was clear from the Meeting that others had made

similar observations.

Page 3

September Meeting of the Friends

Some of the Room Stewards at Arundells

Financial statement, the formation and

election of a committee all proceeded apace with purpose and humour. Whilst

not all offices were filled, enough com-

mittee members were in place for the first committee meeting to be held on

the 1st October 2012.

I was dismayed by the recent corre-spondence and a ‘Times’ editorial,

which had been displayed, for our in-

formation. It was ironic that an article in ‘The Times’ had originally exhorted

me to visit Arundells in case it closed, and that I shouldn’t miss the opportu-

nity. My how ‘Times’ change!

After the formalities, Tony and Michael

extended their multifarious generosity to an invitation for the Friends to join

them at their home for tea and cakes

after the meeting. It was idyllic; hosts, tea, cakes, a lovely garden and a real

joy to chat to some Friends I hadn’t met before. A perfect end to this important

meeting.

Since becoming a Friend I have been

made more aware of aspects of Sir Ed-ward’s life and whilst not using the

following reference in exactly the con-

text in which he meant it, I should like

to think that his words have some reso-

nance today. Made in a speech in 1974 – he said, “I am not a product of privi-

lege, I am a product of opportunity”. I

feel that because of his generosity I am the product of privilege, I am able to

visit Arundells and I hope to be part of the whole group which extends that

opportunity to others and keeps Arun-

dells open to the public.

Janice Deane.

Stop Press

A meeting was held on the 25th October between the Trustees and representatives of the Friends of Arundells. Lord Armstrong an-nounced their decision to apply to the Charity Commission again for permission to sell Arundells. They intend to close Arundells finally on the 29th October 2012. Although there was discussion and ques-tions asked by the Friends it ap-peared that the trustees decision is

final, as far as they are concerned.

The Friends of Arundells will there-fore be mounting a vigorous cam-paign to oppose this action. You will receive more details after the committee meeting on the 8th No-vember. Full details of the Trustees reasoning can be found on The

Arundells website.

www. Arundells.co.uk

returning from the Isle of Wight in the early hours of the morning on the ferry,

along with several other lorry drivers.

They were lining the rail contemplating the long day ahead when ‘Morning

Cloud’ hove into view with Sir Edward

at the helm. He waved heartily to the passengers as he passed closely by, only

to be met with a lot of glum faces and negative responses from the crowd of

lorry drivers whose politics were defi-

nitely not of the same colour!

Recently, I was explaining to a group of visitors about how the Chinese wall-

paper had kept its colours without fad-

ing, despite being there for over twenty years, when one of the group said, ‘I am

an artist, and the paint is probably egg tempura which has a reputation for

keeping its colour’. You learn some-

thing every day!

Talking of the wallpaper, it supposedly represents the Chinese legend of the

‘Monkey King’. Some of our Japanese

guests dispute this fact, laying claim to the legend as their own. Do we have an

arbitrator out there?

The only criticism of my chosen place

to steward is the proximity of the back

door to the garden. On most sunny calm days it is a pleasure to have the door

open, so that a gentle breeze and the scents of the garden can waft in. But on

cooler days, when it is decided that

some fresh air would be beneficial. the breeze feels like a howling gale! The

gale transfers to the main corridor, my-

self, and the Stewards at the open front door begin to look decidedly blue!

However this is but a small discomfort for the pleasure I gain from volunteering

in this beautiful home.

Ron Carter

Thursday afternoons finds me in my usual spot in the fun part of the house,

by the back stairs. Why the fun part?

It’s the area that houses Sir Edward Heath’s collection of political cartoons.

Many a visitor has spent some time

here, laughing their heads off. Some even remember how they laughed when

a cartoon first appeared in a publication,

generally the more mature visitors!

One or other cartoon may have a par-

ticular poignancy for visitors. I remem-

ber an instance when I was pointing out a particular cartoon illustrating the time

when Sir Edward went to rescue the

hostages from Saddam Hussein in Iraq. A voice from behind me said. ‘Yes, one

of those hostages was my son.’

By listening to visitors one can pick up a lot of information. It is surprising that

many people who come to see us either

knew him personally or remember a particular incident when they had met

him.

One visitor, an ex lorry driver, had been

To step across the threshold of the front door of Arundells is to be transported

into a rare world of culture and interest,

seen through my eyes as a volunteer room steward there. I hear the many

comments from visitors, who tell me

their visit here has been one of sheer delight, of pleasure and enjoyment and

of the many surprises the House has held for them. Whether it is the sound of

Handel’s Water Music being played on

the Steinway Grand Piano drifting through the rooms, seeing the quite re-

markable Art collection or hearing the

stories and the laughter ringing out in Sir Edwards’s home, all have added to

the charm, the ambience and the utter

uniqueness of their visit.

Also, I stress the word Home. For Arun-

dells is just that. It gives one and all a feeling of warmth and comfort, which

Sir Edward so readily extended to his

many guests during the twenty years he lived here. A visit will culminate in a

memorable wander around Arundell’s

stunning garden, so beautifully kept by

willing hands.

Visitors and Volunteers alike are at one

with their feelings for the future of Arundells as it is now, a long and happy

one, continuing to bring joy to the many

people who have yet to sample its rich

culture and heritage.

Sue Eastham.

Page 4

A View from the Back Stair

On Volunteering at Arundells

NEWS LET TER

Malcom, one of our volunteer pian-

ists. (Photograph courtesy of Neil Crick)

I SS UE 15

Brief Notes on the John Piper Paint-

ings

As an Artist myself and also a Volun-

teer Steward I have a particular interest

in Sir Edward’s wonderful collection of Art and would like to pass on some

notes I have made on John Piper.

Having a very early interest in Architec-

ture, John Piper visited all the Churches

in Surrey with John Betjeman and the “Shell Guides”, visiting ten churches in

one day!

Piper is known for his prints (Tate Brit-

ain), pottery, glass in Coventry Cathe-

dral, stage designs and photography. He was also an Art Critic, he played piano

in a dance band and was influenced by

Picasso, Turner and Palmer in his paint-

ing.

His paint-

ings

have been described as having great gusts of

enthusiasm, pulsing with energy with their random colours and often with

very dark skies. King George was said

to have asked Piper if he had bad weather whilst painting Windsor Castle

as commissioned by the Queen Mother!

Piper’s chosen mediums include water

colours, wax resistant, pastels, ink,

chalk and gauche. A truly remarkable artist and little wonder that he was a

favourite of Sir Edward whose collec-tion of Piper’s are a huge draw for par-

ticular visitors. Tess Thomas

Gardeners Four

Every garden has its own unique per-

sonality. When Sir Edward came to live at Arundells in 1985 he commissioned

landscape designers to renovate the garden. We are fortunate that one of the

members of that firm remained in Sir

Edward’s employ and is the Curator in the House today. I know from him a

little of Sir Edward’s vision for his gar-

den. He wished the garden to be easy to maintain and to be cultivated organi-

cally. Today it is still substantially as he

wished it to be.

Now that I have worked as a volunteer

in the garden through half the year, from March to October, I have formed my

own impression of its unique character. The overall atmosphere is peaceful and

relaxed. You are not distracted from the

incomparable views, Salisbury’s soaring Spire at the front and the confluence of

the rivers Avon and Nadder at the back,

with the water meadows stretching be-

yond the elaborate garden features.

The meandering design leads around corners to hidden treasures – a statue of

a young girl holding a birdbath, a tall

Maple, currently in all its autumn glory with its scarlet leaves. When we cleared

the tall Campanula last month, purple

autumn cyclamen appeared on the

cleared ground.

I imagine Sir Edward walking through his garden in the evenings, relishing

both the surprises and the continuing

tranquillity. It must have given him a great deal of solace. Now it gives pleas-

ure to the many visitors who stroll

through it, sit to admire the views and

almost say “ I wish I lived here”

Val Potter

Being a volunteer gardener at Arundells

is a delight. The garden is such a pleas-ure to work in with its many interesting

shrubs and plants to admire and appreci-

ate. The two rivers , the Avon and Nad-der, flowing along at the end of the gar-

den just adds to the peacefulness. I

really enjoy my Thursdays here.

Gill Wileman Cooke

I wasn’t sure what to expect when I

volunteered to be a gardener at Arun-dells, but I have found the garden most

rewarding to work in. I very often feel I

would like to do ‘overtime’ to get a job finished. Its been interesting to see the

changes since the beginning of the year, starting with cutting back the bluebells

in the dell, moving onto the summer

flower displays and now the beautiful

autumnal colours. Jean Carter

We are glad to hear that Margaret, our

fourth garden volunteer is recovering from her eye operation. We expect to

hear from her in the next edition.

again. Twenty-five years later he be-came Prime Minister, and in 1972, after

a demanding 12 hour talk with French

President, George Pompidou, he paved the way for a successful outcome to

Britain’s third attempt to join the Euro-

pean Economic Community (Jan 1973).

Much has changed since the 70s. But

Heath’s passion for seeing the big pic-ture and building partnerships for peace

and prosperity is as critical now as ever

Arundells is more than a visitor attrac-tion in a fabulous setting. The house

with its remarkable contents is a robust

reminder of one man’s passion for the pursuit of peace and amity between

peoples once at war. In 1944-5 Major

Edward Heath witnessed at first hand the devastation of modern warfare. He

was a Battery Commander in North West Europe. The experience forged

his commitment to European Unity.

Such warfare should never happen

it was. The European Union is at a cross-road. The choice – not just for Ger-

many and the Euro zone – is between

closer co-operation or the eventual

break-up of the Union.

Heath was no ‘Little Englander’. His active involvement with leaders from

across the globe is vividly illustrated

through the photos, furnishings and artwork that ornament his home. The

Chinese wall paper on the stairway tells

Contd. On back page

Page 5

Notes from the house and garden

The Wider Vision

His paintings have

been described as hav-

ing great gusts of en-

thusiasm

Val, Jean and Gill taking a break for

the photo. Photograph courtesy of Jean Carter

Editorial Contact Details.

F RIEN DS OF

ARUN DELLS

Arundells and The Close connection

Editor….Stevie Paul. Email millingtonstevie@hotmail.com Tel 07799646136 / 01722 742987

We are on the web

www.thefriendsofarundells.org.uk

Contd. from page 5

the story of the trickster Monkey King

and his Journey to the West with a Bud-dhist monk intent on retrieving ancient

wisdom. Today the unfolding story of

China will become a dominant narrative in the events that will shape our lives.

Heath’s legacy reminds each of us – regardless of political affiliation – to

respond creatively to the challenges of

our world by deepening our mutual un-derstanding and by re-evaluating our

prejudices concerning each other’s cul-

tures. Arundells – in keeping with the terms of Sir Edward’s Will – could and

should become a Centre for promoting that quality of international friendship

and understanding upon which all our

futures depend.

See for example, Ian Traynor in the

Guardian 12th September 2012.

“When China Rules the World”. Martin

Jacques (Penguin 2nd edition 2012)

John Potter

Campaigning to save the former

home of Sir Edward Heath for the

nation.

We have become accustomed to the idea that clergymen usually inhabit their own

purpose built houses. In Medieval

times, the Canons, members of the Ca-thedral Chapter, would reside in Canon-

ries built around the Cathedral.

In Salisbury, from 1220 to 1258, a new

Cathedral was built from scratch on the

flood plain. The importance of this Ca-thedral is clearly demonstrated by the

fact that over 80 acres of land around

the building were set aside for The Close where many magnificent Canon-

ries were to be built. Alongside this was the Bishop’s “planted and planned” new

town of Sarum , now Salisbury, an exer-

cise which involved extensive planning and the deliberate relocation of a great

Church from its ancient hilltop at Old

Sarum two miles away.

The 13th Century building which

evolved into Arundells was one of 15 similar structures intended to be located

on the west side of the Close. The

Bishop ordered these to be built by the Canons, to serve as their main accom-

modation. There would have been room

for servants and later perhaps one of the Vicars Choral who assisted the Canon

with his work at the Cathedral.

Throughout the Middle Ages the Church was a great landowner as well

as being a political power in the land. Its senior clergy were expected therefore to

maintain a sense of status, demonstrated

through their accommodation and life style. Providing hospitality was an im-

portant part of this responsibility. We

know Henry Blunston, Archdeacon of Dorset, lived in Arundells at the end of

the 13th Century. Given his position, it is highly likely he would have enter-

tained on a significant scale.

Arundells was, occupied by a Canon in the 16th Century. This was the notorious

Leonard Bilson, imprisoned in 1571 for

sorcery and suchlike!

The House was eventually let to the

laity when the Cathedral did not need such much accommodation for its

Clergy. The Mompesson family lived in it for several generations until they man-

aged to acquire the lease of a larger

property facing Choristers Green. This is now the National Trust property

known as Mompesson House.

The Wyndham family took over the lease and in the early 18th Century reno-

vated the House and put on the Queen Anne frontage. It was re-named Arun-

dells when one of the Wyndham family

married a daughter of the Duke of Nor-folk of Arundel Castle in Sussex. Dur-

ing their tenancy Jesuit priests were

given sanctuary in the roof of the House. Evidence of their cells are still to

be seen in the loft. Quite a triumph for a Catholic family in such an elite Angli-

can enclave!

In its time the House has been a discreet school for young ladies and a convales-

cent home for war wounded soldiers. What is clear from this brief history is

that Arundells has always had a special

aura. How fitting that its last and possi-bly final owner should be a man for

whom warmth and hospitality were such

important values in his life.

Jim Humberstone & Stevie Paul.

Arundells Coffee Club

Many of the volunteers have ex-pressed a wish to remain in touch with each other and with what is happening with Arundells over the winter months so it has been decided to start a Coffee Club to be held at The Cosy Club, in New Street, Salisbury every Thursday from 15th November. Any Friend of Arundells will be welcome to come along to this venue on an informal basis anytime between 2.30 and 4pm on any or all of the following Thursdays until further notice. You will be sure to find a familiar face , to be able to relax in convivial surroundings and share your news. A copy of the most recent Newsletter will be placed on an appropriate table to identify the Group’s position. Do come whether you are a Volun-teer a Friend or both. The Cosy Club is next door to The New Inn and can provide coffee, tea and

meals or a bar if required. Contact Stevie Paul (Editor) for further information

Page 6