Have you ever played “Telephone”? The childhood game where your kinder sit in a circle and one person whispers a phrase into their buddy’s ear only to be passed around the circle.
However, by the time the phrase returns, it may be similar but sometimes completely different than the original phrase whispered among giggling children.
Take this phrase for instance:
- And yonder, far, where browse the lowing herd,
- Within that field where lies the grazing herd
- Within that field where lies the grov’ling herd.
Now let’s replace this child’s circle with a mighty tree. Where not only this phrase, but an entire poem was carved into it. Fast forward over 160 years into the game of ‘telephone’ and you end up with quite an interesting result. One would think after 160 years, literary journals, books and ‘rubbings’ taken of the carving of which we would have gotten it correct by now. But just like the game of telephone, our personal interpretations and thoughts cloud the true words.
The Man
Joseph Tubb was born in 1805 to James and Maria L Tubb of Warborough, Berkshire England. According to the census records James had 2 siblings; Maria L Tubb (B: ~1838) and Benjamin Tubb (B: ~1849)(1)(2). Both James’s father and uncle were Maltsters in Warborough; so it was pretty much a given that Joseph would follow in his family’s footsteps, as one who would grow, select and malt barley for beer brewers in England. Digging through nearly 200 years of periodicals returned very little information on Joseph or his family other than census records and his later claim to fame; the Poem Tree of Wittenham Clumps.
The Carving
Perched atop Castle Hill, lies a rotted old beech tree; next to it a plague containing the rubbings of an old poem. But how did it get there? And just what is Castle Hill? Mother Dunch’s Buttocks, Sinodun Hills, Wittenham Clumps, they have all gone by many names over the centuries. Whatever you want to call these hills, they share the same geography; two prominent hills in the county of Berkshire England. They have a collective name, but individually they are
consist of two hills called ‘Round Hill’ and ‘Castle Hill’. If you look at aerial footage of the clumps you can almost picture how valuable this land would have been to the British, Romans or anyone else that wanted the ability to oversee the land from a fort upon a hill at over 100 meters (330 feet) above sea level. For hundreds of years archaeologist have found graves, walls, pottery shards and other artifacts that prove the existence of not only an Iron Age fort at this location but of Roman occupation at this fort (3)(4)(5)(6). Imagine over two thousand years of rich history on these hills, written about by scribes, sung by bards and eloquently recited by poets.
Well, someone thought to do just that. In the summers of 1844 and 1844 Joseph Tubb went upon Castle Hill and carved an epic poem. This poem is not about love, life, laughter and joy. But a poem about the history of these two hills; Battles and Death, Kings and the Church, Invaders and the land below. To stand upon the hill, close your eyes and imagine all of these things while reciting the poem, truly brings history to life. But Mr. Tubb didn’t stop there; He
didn’t just write a poem and let his words carry off to the wind like the forgotten fort buried below him. No, he carved his poem upon the beech trees. It is said that the very beech trees that still exist upon the hill are the oldest known hilltop beech trees in England, introduced to the hills in 1740(7). This means that Mr. Tubb carved his poem about history, upon history, where over 150 years later, in a distant form, it still exists.
Now, how do we know it was Mr. Tubb that carved this upon the tree? Sadly no one signed their work and there is no true documentation as to who did it and why. Out of all of the books dating from 1850 to today; I found two references to the poem.
The first reference was in 1881 in ‘The History of Wallingford in the County of Berks’(8). We know that at the time of publication the tree would have been carved 36 years before and Mr. Tubb would have passed away 2 years previously (D: ~ 1879). However in the book, the author states that the poet is unknown. The second book where this poem is referenced comes from 1898, 17 years after the first book. This book is titled ‘The Berkshire Archaeological Journal Vol 4-6’(9). In this journal they again reprint the poem, however a very important key piece of information is here. It is stated on page 124 “Mr. Henry J. Hewett writes to say that the lines were composed and carved by the late Mr. Joseph Tubb, of Warborough Green. He did the work in his leisure time on occasional summer evenings in 1844 and 1845. There are discrepancies between the MS, now in possession of Mr. Ben Tubb, of Brightwell, Bucks and the lines on the tree, which are due to the inscriber occasionally leaving the MS. behind him, and cutting out a line from memory”
From this we can surmise a few things. Benjamin Tubb was Joseph Tubb’s younger brother and at the time that this journal was published Mr. Tubb was living in Berkshire as a Relieving Officer – Registrar of Births and Deaths(2). According to the Berkshire directory there is a Mr. Henry J Hewett that also lived in Berkshire at that time(10). So it is more than plausible that the two of them knew each other and Mr. Hewett wrote this information. He could have easily retrieved the original manuscript and historical information from Benjamin and presented what appears to be the only historical information on the carving in the tree.
But what about the rubbing? What is considered the ‘true’ poem today? How did that come about? After a hundred years that poor beech tree had seen enough, and what was left of the poem was slowly starting to decay. In 1965 Henry Osmaston took a rubbing of the poem on the tree, which can still be seen today on the plaque(11). However between the rubbing and what someone interpreted the words things have changed. Remember that game of telephone? In this case the game of telephone is being played with 100 year old tree that was carved upon, aged and decayed, then rubbed upon with paper and medium; at which point 30 years later an interpretation of the rubbing in 1994 took place and a plaque was created.
What about another author? The history of kings and church, the description of history going back 2000 years is quite vivid for a poem written by the son of a maltster, may not be unheard of but in the 1840’s is unlikely. He may have carved the poem, but did he write the poem? Seventy years before Mr. Tubb carved this famous poem upon a tree, there was a very descriptive poem spreading across England about Wittenham Clumps. This poem was written by Thomas Pentycross in 1777 titled ‘Wittenham Hill: A descriptive poem’(12). The poem itself is about 10 pages, written in descriptive verse, about Wittenham Hill. After further analysis it was found that the verse of ‘Wittenham Hill’ is not the same as the poem on the tree. However; it can be reasonably concluded that during that timeframe, the people in that area knew of the history, and wrote descriptive poetry about the hill. Did he write it? Or did he borrow the manuscript? No one will truly know.
Conclusion
Below this article are the 3 poems. You can see that by just a minor modification of words the meaning of the poem can change. Did Mr. Tubb do this by accident when he left his manuscript at home? Did whoever transcribe the rubbing to words decide that certain words needed to be changed? Or that after so many years their mind filled in the blanks of the eroded carvings? That one probably meant grazing or grov’ling? In 150 years not only our language but our culture, history, and everything between has changed. It’s clear that our own personal interpretations of what was written in wood can be easily modified; akin to the world’s oldest game of ‘telephone’, to fit what we feel is ‘modern’. If we have done this to a tree, what other parts of history have we modified to fit our ‘current’ time? We should be preserving history for later generations, learning from it and teaching it; Not giving our own interpretations to what was written down by another person, so that we change the outcome of history. With that, it’s still truly fascinating to see how what one man wrote 150 years ago as a simple poem, a testament to his town and 2000 years of history, can still be standing for future generations. I for one am curious what this poem will say in another 150 years.
Rubbing
As up the hill with labr’ing steps we tread
Where the twin Clumps their sheltering branches spread
The summit gain’d at ease reclining lay
And all around the wide spread scene survey
Point out each object and instructive tell
The various changes that the land befell
Where the low bank the country wide surrounds
That ancient earthwork form’d old Mercia’s bounds
In misty distance see the barrow heave
There lies forgotten lonely Cwichelm’s grave.
Around this hill the ruthless Danes intrenched
And these fair plains with gory slaughter drench’d
While at our feet where stands that stately tower
In days gone by up rose the Roman power
And yonder, there where Thames smooth waters glide
In later days appeared monastic pride.
Within that field where lies the grazing herd
Huge walls were found, some coffins disinter’d
Such is the course of time, the wreck which fate
And awful doom award the earthly great.
1881 Copy
As up the hill with laboring steps we tread,
Where the win clumps their shelt’ring branches spread;
The summit gained at ease reclining stay,
And all around the widespread scene survey,
Point out each object, and instructive tell
The various changes that the land befell.
Where the low banks the country wide surround
That ancient earthwork formed old Merica’s bound;
In misty distance see the barrow heave,
There lies forgotten lonely Cwichelm’s [grave].
Around the hill the ruthless Dane intrenched,
And the fair plains with gory slaughter drenched;
While at our feet where stands that stately Tower,
In days gone by uprose the Roman power,
And yonder there where Thames’ smooth waters glide,
In later days appear’d monastic pride;
Within that field where lies the grov’ling herd,
Huge walls were crouched, stone coffins disinterr’d.
Such is the course of time, the wreck which fate
And aweful doom award the earthly great.
Original Manuscript
As up the hill with laboring steps we tread,
Where the win clumps their shelt’ring branches spread;
The summit gained at ease reclining stay,
And all around the widespread scene survey,
Point out each object, and instructive tell
The various changes that the land befell.
Where the low banks the country wide surround
That ancient earthwork formed old Merica’s bound;
In misty distance see the barrow heave,
There lies forgotten lonely Chichelm’s cleve.
Around the hill the ruthless Dane intrenched,
And the fair plains with gory slaughter drenched;
While at our feet where stands that stately Tower,
In days gone by uprose the Roman power,
And yonder there where Thames’ smooth waters glide,
In later days appear’d monastic pride;
And yonder, far, where browse the lowing herd,
Huge walls were crouched, stone coffins disinterr’d.
Such is the course of time, the wreck which fate
And aweful doom award the earthly great.
Written by: Jayson Broughton – Edited by: Len Kaplan
Bibliography
- “Tubb Family Genealogy.” TUBB Families of Berkshire & Wiltshire, Free Pages, 1 Sept. 2017, freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~kitwithers/tubb/tubb.html.
- “Family Search – Tubb Family Genealogy.” FamilySearch.org, Family Search, 1 Sept. 2017, familysearch.org/search/record/results?count=20&query=%2Bgivenname%3Abenjamin~%2B%2Bsurname%3Atubb~%2B%2Bother_givenname%3AJoseph~&collection_id=%281493745%2B1493747%2B1538354%2B2563939%29.
- Archaeology, Wessex, editor. “Round Hill, Wittenham Clumps Oxfordshire.” Vol. SP4, no. 6EB, Mar. 2004, pp. 1–45., www.wessexarch.co.uk/files/52568_Wittenham.pdf.
- “Wittenham Clumps.” OpenBuildings – Wittenham Clumps, OpenBuildings, http://openbuildings.com/buildings/wittenham-clumps-profile-35415
- Chambers, R A, and M Harman. “An Inhumation Cemetery at Castle Hill, Little Wittenham, Oxon., 1984-85.” 1985, pp. 1–4., http://oxoniensia.org/volumes/1986/chambers4.pdf
- “An Interim Summary Report on Excavations at Castle Hill, Wittenham Clumps.” 5 Sept. 2003, pp. 1–12., http://thehumanjourney.net/html_pages/microsites/wittenham_clumps/wittenhams_summary.pdf
- “Nature Reserves – Little Wittenham, South Oxfordshire.” Oxford Conservation Volunteers : Nature Reserves, Oxford Conservation Volunteers, 1 Sept. 2017, www.ocv.org.uk/sites.php?id=56.
- Hedges, John Kirby. “The History of Wallingford.” The History of Wallingford, in the County of Berks, from the Invasion of Julius Caesar to the Present Time. With an Account of Its Castle, Churches, and Monastic Institutions. Embracing Historical Notices of Adjacent Parts, and an Attempt to Fix the True Site of Calleva Atrebatum, vol. 2, W. Clowes, 1881, p. 136.
- “The Berkshrie Archaeological Journal.” The Berkshrie Archaeological Journal, vol. 4-6, Charles Slaughter, 1898, pp. 124–125.
- “Kelly’s Directory of Berkshire, Bucks and Oxon: with Maps Engraved Expressly for the Work.”Kelly’s Directory of Berkshire, Bucks and Oxon: with Maps Engraved Expressly for the Work, Kelly & Co., 1883, p. 227.
- “Obituaries – Henry Osmaston.” The Independent, Independent Digital News and Media, 9 July 2006, www.independent.co.uk/news/obituaries/henry-osmaston-6095810.html.
- “Rev. Thomas Pentycross.” Translated by David HIll Radcliffe, Rev. Thomas Pentycross, Spenser and the Tradition, http://spenserians.cath.vt.edu/AuthorRecord.php?action=GET&recordid=33562
