More things in heaven and earth, Horatio, and apparently many of them are cheese

[truepenny]

I'm teaching Sir John Denham's poem, "Cooper's Hill," today, and since the poem is extremely interested in topography and the view from Cooper's Hill, I did a Google image search.

And discovered that what the really famous Cooper's Hill, which is in Gloucestershire, is known for is cheese rolling.

I am so not making this up. My imagination isn't that good.

(Check out some of the pictures on the Event page to see just how freaking steep that hill is.)

Denham's Cooper's Hill is in Surrey.

Project Gutenberg has put online The International Monthly Magazine 5.2 (1852), which includes a lengthy, illustrated discussion of St. Anne's Hill, site of Chertsey Abbey, which features prominently in Denham's poem.

The River Thames Society, on their Where Thames Smooth Waters Glide site, has an awesome aerial view-cum-map of Cooper's Hill. SurreyProperty.com has views from Cooper's Hill: of Windsor Castle, of the Thames, and a third, which is very bucolic but also uninformative. Also a couple of views of Cooper's Hill, which now has an Air Force memorial at its crown. And, of course, Runnymede at its foot.

Can anyone, btw, tell me if Denham would have been able to see St. Paul's from the top of Cooper's Hill, or is that just poetic license?

Comments

[silme.livejournal.com]

Hmm. I used to teach right by Runnymede, btw, over in Thorpe. Let me think about the view. It's not that many miles (says English husband who lived in Surrey for years). He states that there's nothing that hilly between the two places, but he could check on Googlemaps for the mileage and for spot heights.

And, yes, the cheese rolling is traditional. :)

[retrobabble.livejournal.com]

And hey! Don't laugh! People get hurt rolling down that hill. *g*

[fuchsoid.livejournal.com]

I did hear that there was an unsuccessful move to cancel the cheese-rolling this year, for health and safety reasons. There are apparently several broken bones a year and the occasional fatality.

[silme.livejournal.com]

Okay, here's from the engineer husband who is a native of London.

As far as he can see, the spot height of Coopers Hill is about 80 meters. It's a straight line distance to Ludgate Hill (where St. Paul's is), and it's about 20 miles. He couldn't find an elevation for Ludgate Hill, but probably it's about 20 meters, and the high point of the cathedral is about 100 meters. So, from there, you can decide if it's visible. On a clear day? :) With good eyesight? :)

[truepenny.livejournal.com]

I think we can charitably grant Sir John Denham both. *g*

Thank you!

[mevennen.livejournal.com]

What, *St Paul's Cathedral* from Cooper's Hill?? No way! I was born and brought up in Gloucester (the nearest city], and have been familiar with cheese rolling and its accompanying major fractures since I was a child. London is 100 miles from the region. You'd need supernaturally good eyesight.

But if you are interested in Gloucestershire poetry, might I suggest Ivor Gurney, a WW1 poet?

[mevennen.livejournal.com]

>Cooper's Hill, about eighteen miles from London. From its top you can see London to the right and Windsor Castle to the left.

I see I am being too parochial. From Surrey, perhaps. But not from Gloucestershire.

[cissa.livejournal.com]

Before TV, people had to make their own fun.