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The construction company I work for has been carrying out maintenance on the buildings and grounds of an old country park on the outskirts of Cambridge off and on for the last decade or so. I usually get the gig and have worked there dozens of times. I got the job this week of repairs to the roof of the ‘big house’ and clock tower. The place was obviously a grandiose country estate in its day and boasts some extremely ancient Iron age features and beautiful sprawling grounds.
I have walked past this spot to use the lavs countless times in the past and for some strange reason I’ve never noticed it until this afternoon. You could have knocked me over with a feather when I glanced at it as I walked past today.
I remember one of my favourite books when I was a child was one by Marguerite Henry called "King of the Wind" and it was the story of how the Arab stallion Sham came to be owned by the Earl of Godolphin and subsequently became known as the Godolphin Arabian, one of the foundation sires of the Thoroughbred breed. It’s mostly fiction of course, but I’ve always loved the story.
This is from the http://www.godolphin.com website:
The Godolphin Arabian died at Gog Magog, near Cambridge, in December 1753, aged 29 years. He was given a wake with cakes and ale and solemnly buried under a gateway at the stable. A stone slab marked his gravesite, which still exists today within the Wandlebury Ring. The stable cat, Grimalkin, who often featured in the horse’s portraits and with whom he shared a long friendship, reportedly died of grief soon after.
Funnily enough BG I Googled it when I got home tonight and read about that fictional tale. I think in the story it is said to have arrived from Morrocco?
Yes the park is the ‘Wandlebury Woods’ country park which sits atop the Gog Magog hills near Cambridge. The house I was working on was named ‘Gog Magog House’.
I spoke to one of the wardens about it and he told me they are currently awaiting the results of some Geophys tests on the grave site to find out if there definitely is a skeleton under the slab. It was quite surreal to think one of the three forefathers of all race horses (Frankel included.) is laid under that stone slab.
Wow hammy, you strike again.
The Godolphin Arabian was always pictured with a little cat, who was his little friend. And should be berried around there somewhere.
The little cat’s name was "Grimalkin"
The construction company I work for has been carrying out maintenance on the buildings and grounds of an old country park on the outskirts of Cambridge off and on for the last decade or so. I usually get the gig and have worked there dozens of times. I got the job this week of repairs to the roof of the ‘big house’ and clock tower. The place was obviously a grandiose country estate in its day and boasts some extremely ancient Iron age features and beautiful sprawling grounds.
I have walked past this spot to use the lavs countless times in the past and for some strange reason I’ve never noticed it until this afternoon. You could have knocked me over with a feather when I glanced at it as I walked past today.
http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u307/ChristopherPHammond/gag_zpsc3c02dd4c_zpsf606f03a.jpg
Great pic – can you get an full on over head shot – want to use it as my facebook pic!
Funnily enough BG I Googled it when I got home tonight and read about that fictional tale. I think in the story it is said to have arrived from Morrocco?
Yes the park is the ‘Wandlebury Woods’ country park which sits atop the Gog Magog hills near Cambridge. The house I was working on was named ‘Gog Magog House’.
I spoke to one of the wardens about it and he told me they are currently awaiting the results of some Geophys tests on the grave site to find out if there definitely is a skeleton under the slab. It was quite surreal to think one of the three forefathers of all race horses (Frankel included.) is laid under that stone slab.
Yes, the story says Morocco, but I’ve seen that Tunisia and Yemen could also be possible starting points. You can still get the book; I picked up a secondhand copy a couple of years ago because I wanted it back in my collection. And yes, the little cat companion Grimalkin also features in the story.
I would think if the gravestone hasn’t actually been moved since it was laid down there is a very good chance that bones will be found. If so, the question arises: should the stone and bones be moved to Newmarket and interned there as an historical relic/monument?
And what of the other two foundation sires? Where were they buried and are there similar gravestones for them?
Ideally no, let him and his little friend be. But perhaps to protect the history a move to the museum should be considered.
It will only be a question of time before some scum bag steals it.
The construction company I work for has been carrying out maintenance on the buildings and grounds of an old country park on the outskirts of Cambridge off and on for the last decade or so. I usually get the gig and have worked there dozens of times. I got the job this week of repairs to the roof of the ‘big house’ and clock tower. The place was obviously a grandiose country estate in its day and boasts some extremely ancient Iron age features and beautiful sprawling grounds.
I have walked past this spot to use the lavs countless times in the past and for some strange reason I’ve never noticed it until this afternoon. You could have knocked me over with a feather when I glanced at it as I walked past today.
http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u307/ChristopherPHammond/gag_zpsc3c02dd4c_zpsf606f03a.jpg
Great pic – can you get an full on over head shot – want to use it as my facebook pic!
I’m back there tomorrow I think Prof. I got the young lad who was helping me to take some pictures on his phone and mail them to me yesterday. I’ll see if I can persuade him to pop up a ladder and get the whole shooting match in the frame for you tomorrow.
Wow hammy, you strike again.
The Godolphin Arabian was always pictured with a little cat, who was his little friend. And should be berried around there somewhere.
The little cat’s name was "Grimalkin"
If the Geophys comes back showing that he was pregnant when he was buried we’ll know if Grimalkin was buried with him itswar.
Ideally no, let him and his little friend be. But perhaps to protect the history a move to the museum should be considered.
It will only be a question of time before some scum bag steals it.
I doubt anyone could get away with breaking out that stone slab without detection.
Apparently the Wandlebury complex was indeed originally a racing establishment. I believe that is also where the stallion stood at stud. Seems a pretty fitting resting place for him really I think.
The Byerley Turk died in 1706 and is buried somewhere on the Goldsborough Hall estate near Knaresborough, North Yorkshire while the Darley Arabian passed away in 1730 and stood at Aldby Park, Buttercrambe, Nr. Leeds. From the sounds of it, neither have a similar monument to them so this may be the only one to exist.
Evidently a recent research study found that 95% of today’s thoroughbreds carrying the Y-chromosome can trace their ancestry back to the Darley Arabian.
Here’s a few words from Marguerite Henry’s story regarding the stone and it’s inscription:
"The Godolphin Arabian lived to a plentiful age. And when he died, at the age of twenty-nine, his body was buried at Gog Magog in a passage leading to his stable. Over his grave a tablet of solid granite was laid. There was no inscription on it. None at all. For the Earl of Godolphin did not need words carved on stone to remind him of the fire and spirit of the golden stallion from Morocco.
And when visitors asked why the tablet bore no marking he would say ‘I shall trouble you with a very short answer. It
needs
none. So I have kept the tablet clean."
After the Earl’s death, the Godolphin Arabian’s name and the year of his death were inscribed on the tombstone. Time, however, is erasing the letters, as if in respect to the Earl’s wishes."
The Byerley Turk died in 1706 and is buried somewhere on the Goldsborough Hall estate near Knaresborough, North Yorkshire while the Darley Arabian passed away in 1730 and stood at Aldby Park, Buttercrambe, Nr. Leeds. From the sounds of it, neither have a similar monument to them so this may be the only one to exist.
Buttercrambe is near Malton, quite a distance from Leeds, unless of course there is another one!!
Goldsborough Hall is about 5 miles from me and, although there is no definite memorial to the Byerley Turk, it is generally thought that he is buried under a 300yr old whitebeam tree in the vicinity of the stables. What a lovely thing to come across Hammy, I shall try to move your photo of it to my photofile (but I’m not holding my breath!)
I had an interesting conversation today with the lady who rents the house outside which the grave is situated. I asked her why the geophys tests had been carried out and she told me that according to the boffins who did the tests if the results proved the horses skeleton was under the slab they would be looking to excavate the grave in order to obtain DNA samples. Apparently they said that this would provide vital data that would be of great benefit to the modern race horse.
I’m not sure why, and she didn’t seem to know either?
Presumably so they could do something similar to what they did regarding the Darley Arabian being in most of today’s thoroughbreds. Not sure how they did that as I haven’t read the study, but they must have used some sort of genetic/DNA marker as a trace I would guess.
What an incredible find Hammy!
Thank you for sharing it with us.It seems like a bad idea to dig the old chap up,
, but if they do we would be able, with modern technology, to see what he really did look like compared to our modern thoroughbreds. The old paintings of that time cannot really tell us because they show a distorted image which was fashionable at the time.So tempting to let him RIP, but what can his skeleton tell us? Fascinating stuff!
I agree it’s shame to think about moving the grave, but then again it is a piece of thoroughbred racing history and perhaps he should be re-interned at Newmarket. Eclipse’s skeleton is there after all and as he is a son of both the Godolphin and Darley Arabians perhaps at least one ancestor should be with him.
What I would hate is for the grave to be totally forgotten or if the estate is eventually sold off for housing that the stone and bones are simply thrown on a rubbish dump.
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