A BRITISH ADVENTURE-A COUPLE OF STORIES

Two stories from our trip:  We stayed in the very small village of Maulds Meaburn for one night.  So how did it get it’s name you ask?  Well, “meaburn” is derived from the Anglo-Saxon meaning “meadow stream”.  The “Maulds” refers to a story of murder and treachery.  Lord of the Manor, Hugh de Morville, was one of the knights who murdered Thomas Becket in Canterbury in 1170.  As punishment, part of the manor was confiscated by the King and the remainder was granted to Hugh’s sister, Maud, hence Maulds Meaburn.  The portion for the King was named King Meaburn, and both still are villages just a short distance apart. You can read about it here: The Murder

MAULDS MEABURN TODAY

Our second story is more recent.  The Lake District, where we now are, is a National Park.  Unlike our National Parks, there are cities, towns and peoples homes within the boundary of the park.  But if you own a home within the boundaries, there are rules, much like a HOA, only worse because it’s run by the government.  So there was this lady who wanted to do some renovations on her home.  She submitted all the paper work and plans to the local council for it’s approval.  They denied her request and she appealed.  This back and forth continued for several years with her request always being denied.  In her research of the regulations, she discovered that there was no requirement for the color of the house.  So to stick it to the council, she painted the house purple. Since the color purple wasn’t forbidden the house remained purple.

As years past, the woman moved and the house was left abandoned but still purple.  Eventually someone set it on fire and it burned to the ground.  The property was eventually sold and the new owners built a new house that met all the rules of the council.  In keeping with the “sticking to the council” attitude, the front door of the new house is purple.  Also in the spring when the flowers in the front of the house bloom, they too are purple.