Celebrating the Charles Maries Trail and the Spinney

On Sunday, 17 July 2016, members of the Maries family together with local villagers met in Hampton Lucy Village Hall to celebrate the creation eleven years ago of two very different village features; the Charles Maries Trail and the Spinney. The Spinney is a small wild-life sanctuary and it was the ‘brain child’ of the late Dr Alan Scaife. It was fitting, therefore, that his widow and son were also present, as well as Dr David Gray, who had officially launched the Trail in 2005, plus representatives of the Parish Council, and Plant Heritage.

During the afternoon, Ken Cockshull gave a talk about Charles Maries, Holly Maries mounted an exhibition of her artistic work relating to Charles, and John Dunkerton described the origins of the Spinney. Tours of the Trail and of the Spinney were arranged and a plaque to commemorate Dr Scaife was unveiled. To finish the day, the guests enjoyed an impressive afternoon tea, supplied and served by the ladies of the Village Enhancement Group (VEG).

Some of the photographs that Jenny Cockshull took are shown below.

Stephen Scaife, Helga Scaife and the plaque in the Spinney

 

The audience in the Village Hall

 

Maries Family Group

 

Church Street – The probable birthplace of Charles Maries

 

The Maries family graves

 

Acer rufinerve with Ken Cockshull, Bernard Wilson, and Malcolm Maries

 

Hydrangea macrophylla ‘Maries perfecta’

 

The Charles Maries cake

 

Drawings by Holly Maries

 

Drawings by Holly Maries

 

Holly Maries and Malcolm Maries cut the cake

 

Afternoon tea

 

Robert Davey, Bernard Wilson, Patricia Kirkland, and Kitty Plumb’s daughters

 

Philip and Jane Maries with their daughter Grace

Ken Cockshull with Sonia Lewis (nee Maries), Jane Harley (nee Maries) and Tina Maries