Woman Labours In Leonard's Lane

Today is the feast day of Leonard, the patron saint of prisoners, criminals, greengrocers and women in labour. I thought I’d see if any local churches are dedicated to him. Sure enough there is a little Norman church in Bengeo, built in 1120. I had a quick look at a map and set out to find it.

I wasn’t having much luck. The people I asked had never heard of it. As I was coming down the hill in Hertford I caught sight of one of those brown signs, with the name of the church on it, pointing down a lane. I drove through a pair of ornate wrought iron gates. The lane was very narrow and strewn with leaves and twigs. I thought it strange that there were no passing places. Hoping that I didn’t meet a vehicle coming the other way, I pressed carefully on. I got some strange looks from pedestrians. The lane was getting narrower so I decided to pull over as best I could and walk. As I was turning the car round with extreme difficulty, a walker told me that I was driving on a public footpath, not even a bridleway and to get out as soon as possible!

As I tried to pull away nothing happened, the wheels were spinning. A rear wheel drive sportscar is not ideally suited for off-road driving. Two women offered to give me a push but luckily I regained traction. What a relief to drive back out through those gates.

I eventually found the church on top of the hill, overlooking the Beane and Lea valley. It has a rounded apse and three foot thick flint and plaster walls. I’m going to come back in decent weather and walk down into Hartham Common, which looks ideal bug hunting territory.