History Recalled

A day spent in Bude and nearby Stratton in North Cornwall. Stamford Hill near Stratton was the scene of a bloody battle during the English Civil War. The talented artist Robert Lenkiewicz (1941 - 2002) was commissioned to paint a mural depicting members of the Sealed Knot, Civil War re-enactment society in the guise of founding members of the Sir Bevil Grenville Regiment, whio were key players in the conflict. Lenkiewicz painted the participants individually and then incorporated them into a large painting that is currently on display in the excellent Bude Heritage Centre. Robert Lenkiewicz was a prolific painter who often painted on a grand scale. As well as the great and the good (or not so good) he also painted societies forgotten, the old and dispossessed. His studio was in Plymouth's Barbican area where some of his work was displayed and where he could sometimes be seen walking the narrow streets. I remember seeing him in his black cape with his  beard and mass of wavy hair - a striking figure. The blip photo shows only part of the larger picture. As an extra I have included a view of the beach at Bude today, with the canal on the far left. The canal affords access from the sea through a pair of massive lock gates.