I was up quite early today ready for a sixty mile drive to a village in south Nottinghamshire called Norton Disney. I planned to make it the starting point for a long walk but what drew me there in the first place was the village's association with the American film magnate Walt Disney. He visited Norton Disney with members of his family back in 1949.
The d'Isneys were a noble family of French origin who grew comfortable and wealthy in the parish which is still dominated by St Peter's Church where physical signs of the d'Isneys past influence remain. Walt Disney visited the church and saw the relevant tombs and engraved brass work for himself.
Walt Disney in Nottinghamshire in 1949
Below - the tower of St Peter's Church seen across fields...
In a corner of the church I spotted this faded Mothers Union banner which in past times would have been aired on church parades. Such banners are a familiar sight in English churches...
This medieval knight in his stone tomb is I believe Sir William Disney and it dates from the thirteenth century.
I'd never heard of it, but now I think it should be a medieval theme park.
ReplyDeleteThe interior of St Peter's Church in Norton Disney is exquisite.
ReplyDeleteStands the clock at ten to three ?
An extraordinary photo of Uncle Walt, standing at his namesake crossroads !
*What's My Line ? Walt Disney.* YouTube.
*TISH/ Official UK Trailer in cinemas November 17.* YouTube.
ReplyDeleteA visual genius, Patricia Anne Murtha *Tish* (1956-2013) could not
make a living in the art she loved, photography.
She documented the terrible human cost of Mrs Thatcher's commitment
to neoliberal economics.
Mass unemployment, the destruction of the working class movement,
and social squalor.
I wonder if Norton Disney is a similar town to Royston Vasey.
ReplyDeleteDidn't know the background of Walt Disney. Interesting.
ReplyDeleteSo the Disney's (d'Isney's) beginnings were in Yorkshire, England? I learn something every day.
ReplyDeleteHow fascinating!
ReplyDeleteWhat an iconic picture - red telephone box and all.
ReplyDeleteThe church at Norton Disney looks well worth exploring.
I am looking forward to your post about the four hour walk.
It looks like a pretty little place.
ReplyDeleteNext top Gotham?
ReplyDeleteI have already blogged about Gotham young man. Go here:-
Deletehttps://beefgravy.blogspot.com/2021/09/gotham.html
A real world, Disney world. Much better than EPCOT.
ReplyDeletePicturesque is the word!
ReplyDelete*How Walt Disney came back from ruin - BBC News.*
ReplyDeleteYouTube.
An archival interview with Mr Disney from the days of black and white television transmission.
That's interesting, Neil. I didn't know that Disney started out as d'Isney.
ReplyDeleteA 4 hour walk is quite a trek! I bet you have lots to show us. See you later!
*1947 - Walt Disney Testifies at HUAC.*
ReplyDeleteYouTube. Kinolibrary.
Sir Giles Gilbert Scott designed the red telephone kiosk. I wonder what he would think if he knew they are now used for books and defibrillators?
ReplyDelete*The Two Sides of Walt Disney.*
ReplyDeleteYouTube. The Walt Street Journal.
Ah Haggarty, Haggarty did you have to say that about the clock. For some reason the Grantchester Poem has always had a spot in the poetry compartment of what passes for my mind. I realised that I could no longer remember much of the poem so had to go and read it and ponder. And yes, there's honey still for tea.
ReplyDeleteI am pleased the young are reading the Georgians, Graham.
DeleteBrooke, Blunden, Drinkwater, Fletcher. Graves stood alone.
Terry Eagleton said the flinty F.R. Leavis rated Edward Thomas.
Little Toller Books republished *In Search of Spring* by Thomas.
I have always meant to visit Ivor Gurney's grave (he languished years
in a mental hospital) in Gloucester. I have family in Cheltenham.
Brooke was buried in Skyros. At least he missed Gallipoli, the long peninsula of death, where Clement Attlee, by then a socialist, was wounded.
I never knew this about Walt Disney or his family. That looks like a nice old church, with the ornately carved tomb and pews. What is the Mothers Union and why does it have a banner?
ReplyDelete