A tale of love
Regular readers of this blog will know how keen I am on stories. I believe that they are one of the most powerful weapons in any communicator’s arsenal. Finely honed and streamlined to perfection, they can sneak in past the listener’s defences, releasing their full communicative potential close to the heart where they matter most. This means, though, that I must become something of a ‘story hoover’ – collecting them up wherever I see them and storing them for the day when they might be needed.
Years ago I read a story about a woman who clung onto a bell’s clapper to prevent it sounding and thereby signalling her lover’s demise. Last year, I was crossing Chertsey Bridge, made famous by this year’s floods, and noticed out of the corner of my eye a statue which appeared to depict the story. On Wednesday night I attended a hand-bell ringing workshop, was reminded once again of the story, and went to investigate:
The story runs like this. The year is 1471 and Chertsey girl Blanche Heriot’s lover, Neville Audley, is on the run from the Yorkist forces, whom he has been fighting in the wars of the roses. He seeks refuge in the Abbey, but is arrested by Yorkist soldiers and condemned to hang at the sound of the curfew bell the next day. His only hope is a ring, once given to him by a Yorkist nobleman in recognition of the moment when Audley spared his life. A local man agrees to take the ring to London and see if the nobleman will return the favour by sparing Audley’s life. As evening approaches, there is still no sign of the messenger. At last he is spotted the other side of the river, but is held up by waiting for the ferry to cross. Blanche climbs up the belfry and clings onto the clapper of the bell as it swings to and fro – thereby preventing it from sounding. By the time she is found out, the messenger has arrived and her lover’s life has been spared. Shortly after this, Blanche and Neville are married.
It’s a wonderful tale, don’t you think? Not only that, but there is a wonderful little statue to commemorate it. When I visited the statue yesterday, I discovered that Autumn had been to visit – with a spider’s web across Blanche’s lovely face and a leaf behind her ear. I think at only enhances it, don’t you?
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