Simon English
England Revisited
Summer 1971: Simon English visited 75 points across the country to write the word 'ENGLAND' on England.
Summer 2010: Simon English made a new artwork by revisiting those points.
Observation 1971
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Point:
71
Letter:
D
Date visited:
17th September 1971
Flag:
On an ash tree where the path goes between two fields on the Wintershall Estate south east of Godalming.
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Observation 2010
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Point:
71
Letter:
D
Date visited:
3rd September 2010
Observation:
On an Ash tree growing out of the stump of the Ash tree on which I put the flag in 1971. The tree had many trunks all, bar one, have fallen leaving a rotting stump from which the rusting barbed wire that marked the field boundary is being released by fungal decay of the wood that had engulfed it.
In 1971 the owner of the field found the flag and wrote to me. I wrote back explaining the 'All England Sculpture'. Now 39 years later I had the privilege of meeting him, and still owner of the estate, being shown around.
The fence and cattle trough that divided the two fields has been removed. It harboured a large patch of brambles and it had become necessary to put up a fence that could be easily moved. Everywhere else I have been on this journey where fences, gates and hedges have been removed it is to enlarge the fields to increase agricultural efficiency. Here it is theatrical. In one field there is a stage which centres for an annual al fresco Easter 'Passion Play' and performances celebrating the life of Christ.
The plays are performed with a large cast in multiple locations. The cast, I gather, is not just human but also horses and sheep. The latter driven by shepherds through the audience from one field to the other, hence the removal of the hedge. What a wonderful thing.
The Estate is known for producing organic beef and lamb.
The south field, I am informed, was until 1940 part of the wood that surrounds it. During the Second World War unproductive land needed to be put to food production so Italian Prisoners of war were put to clearing the land. This might explain the Ash tree at point 71.
The Ashes that fringe this field grow in groups out of big bowls. These must once have been coppiced, I assume in the 1940s, when I first visited the regenerated trunks would have been nearly 30 years old. Now those that still stand must be about 70. This is just my supposition.
The public footpath that runs along the fence is now named 'The Greensand Way'.
Points 71 & 73