Remembering Chiswick And Brentford's Bloody Past
Former Attorney General Dominic Grieve guest speaker at Hampden Society dinner
Those in attendance at the dinner, with Dominic Grieve on left at head of the table
|
The former Attorney General, Dominic Grieve, has spoken in Chiswick of how two historic battles had relevance for the political maelstrom that the country faces today.
He was a guest speaker at a special commemorative dinner for members of the John Hampden Society, the Battlefields Trust and guests, at the Wellesley Room of The Pilot pub.
The event was held to commemorate the 380th anniversaries of the battles of Brentford and Turnham Green. The Hampden Society was also celebrating its 30th anniversary.Mr Grieve spoke passionately about the principles that had led Englishman to fight Englishman- principles that he maintained had an uncanny relevance in the political maelstrom of modern Britain: the importance of keeping the courts independent of the executive arm of government, and the need for Parliament to act as an effective check on the power of the Executive.
Sam Hearn (Treasurer) strikes a pose in a helmet
The two battles were of crucial importance since they prevented a decisive and early end to the bloody civil war: With many MPs and Lords fixated on a peaceful solution, Parliament failed to deliver the knock out blow that was arguably within its grasp. Yet by blocking the road to London Parliament denied the King access to the ultimate prize, the wealth and prestige of The City.
In response to a question from local MP, Ruth Cadbury, (pictured above trying on a helmet), Mr Grieve said that he no longer believed that the UK needed a written constitution. He was nevertheless still in favour of incorporating something like the European Convention on Human Rights into British Law.
In addition, he now believed that what was needed were politicians who both understood the principles underlying our historic unwritten constitution and had the moral strength to implement those principles even if this was politically inconvenient.
Earlier in the day Simon Marsh and Colin Cordell of the Battlefields Trust had led the annual battlefield walks at Brentford and Turnham Green.
On display during the dinner were seventeenth century arms and armour from the personal collection of Howard Simmons. Few of the diners had previously been aware that swords were manufactured on a huge scale on Hounslow Heath in the 1630s and 1640s.
John Hampden ( above) was one of the leading architects of the resistance to Charles I's arbitrary rule during the years leading up to the outbreak of the English Civil War. Much of what he fought for was enshrined in the British Constitution as the Bill of Rights of 1689. His political legacy can be found in the constitutions of many of the world's leading democracies, including the USA. He died in 1643.
The Society Treasurer, Sam Hearn, will give a talk on 22 March, 2023, at St Nicholas Church, Church Road, Ickford HP18 9HZ, at 7.30 pm. Entrance fee is £10 (includes a glass of wine), and all are welcome. No booking required.
Like Reading Articles Like This? Help Us Produce More This site remains committed to providing local community news and public interest journalism. Articles such as the one above are integral to what we do. We aim to feature as much as possible on local societies, charities based in the area, fundraising efforts by residents, community-based initiatives and even helping people find missing pets. We’ve always done that and won’t be changing, in fact we’d like to do more. However, the readership that these stories generates is often below that needed to cover the cost of producing them. Our financial resources are limited and the local media environment is intensely competitive so there is a constraint on what we can do. We are therefore asking our readers to consider offering financial support to these efforts. Any money given will help support community and public interest news and the expansion of our coverage in this area. A suggested monthly payment is £8 but we would be grateful for any amount for instance if you think this site offers the equivalent value of a subscription to a daily printed newspaper you may wish to consider £20 per month. If neither of these amounts is suitable for you then contact info@neighbournet.com and we can set up an alternative. All payments are made through a secure web site. One-off donations are also appreciated. Choose The Amount You Wish To Contribute. If you do support us in this way we’d be interested to hear what kind of articles you would like to see more of on the site – send your suggestions to the editor. For businesses we offer the chance to be a corporate sponsor of community content on the site. For £30 plus VAT per month you will be the designated sponsor of at least one article a month with your logo appearing if supplied. If there is a specific community group or initiative you’d like to support we can make sure your sponsorship is featured on related content for a one off payment of £50 plus VAT. All payments are made through a secure web site. |
November 19, 2022
