Tag Archives: long crendon

Three hares or rabbits sharing three ears between them in a church in Buckinghamshire

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WE HAVE COME ACROSS this type of curious motif once before in the parish church at Long Melford (Suffolk), and recently (September 2024) in the parish church at Long Crendon (Buckinghamshire). The motif consists of three hares (or rabbits) in a circle and joined by their ears which form a triangle at the centre of the design. Each creature appears to have two ears, but between them, they share only three ears. At Long Melford, this image can be seen in a small piece of mediaeval stained glass in a window on the north side of the church. At Long Crendon, it can be seen on a small 14th century tile close to the high altar.

According to the guidebook we obtained in the church at Long Crendon, the three hare/rabbit motif is only seen in a few places in Britain (including 12 of the Stannary villages in Devon and Cornwall, Long Melford, Lavenham, and Chester Cathedral). Also, it stated that it can be seen:

“… in a few places stretching from China to Europe along the Silk Road.”

Well, this got me very interested, and I did a little research on the Internet. Soon, I came across a website, “Three Hares Project” (www.chrischapmanphotography.co.uk/hares/page7.htm).  This site contains a mine of information including a map showing where the motif has been found along the Silk Route and other places.

The earliest examples that have been found are on the ceilings of  Buddhist caves near Dunhuang in China. They been dated as having been placed there between 581 AD and 907 AD. The three hares have also been found on a late 12th or early 13th century Iranian tray made of brass inlaid with copper. Another example was found painted on the ceiling panel that once used to adorn an 18th century German synagogue. The authors of the website noted:

“The three hares are also found in glass and ceramic wares from the Islamic world.”

So, it appears that the motif that we have seen in churches was not confined to Christian usage.

As to the meaning of the three hares/rabbits motif, the website offered the following:

“… as yet, we have not come across a contemporary written record of its meaning … The hare is strongly represented in world mythology and from ancient times has had divine associations. Its elusiveness and unusual behaviour, particularly at night, have reinforced its reputation as a magical creature. The hare was believed to have mystical links to the female cycle and to the moon which governed it.”

What it meant to Christians, who placed the motif in their churches, was suggested on the website. It said that the ancients believed that the hare was hermaphroditic, and could give birth to its offspring without need for copulation. In relation to this, the learned Thomas Browne (1605-1682) wrote in 1646 in his “Pseudodoxia Epidemica”:

“THE double sex of single Hares, or that every Hare is both male and female, beside the vulgar opinion, was the affirmative of Archelaus, of Plutarch, Philostratus, and many more. Of the same belief have been the Jewish Rabbins: The same is likewise confirmed from the Hebrew word; which, as though there were no single males of that kind, hath only obtained a name of the feminine gender.” (https://penelope.uchicago.edu/pseudodoxia/pseudo317.html).

This belief might have led Christians of old to compare the hare to the Virgin Mary and the birth of her well-known son.

Another less likely possibility is that the three creatures have something to do with representing the Holy Trinity.

Whatever its meaning, I find the motif of three hares sharing three ears almost as fascinating as the eagle with one body and two heads (the double-headed eagle, such as seen, for example, on the flag of Albania and the crest of the Indian State of Karnataka).

Caught in time in west Buckinghamshire

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DUE TO BE DEMOLISHED in 1900, the newly established National Trust (founded in 1895) saved it from this terrible fate that year. The building is a long, narrow half-timbered, brick and wattle structure in the attractive village of Long Crendon in the west of Buckinghamshire. Built sometime between the 14th and 15th century, it served as the manorial courthouse.

Meetings of the manorial court of Long Crendon are believed to have begun before the 13th century. Until 1233, they were held in the lord of the manor’s house, which was demolished that year. In 1275, the manor was divided equally among three female heirs, and courts were held in the farmhouses of their families. By 1558, the courts of the three lords of the manors combined, and it must have been around this time that the courthouse began being used for judicial procedures. The building was not only used by the court but also as a facility for the poor. By the 19th century, it was used by one family to store wool. Some historians question this. In Victorian times the courtroom was used as a Sunday school and a place where occasional public lectures were given.

In 1900, the National Trust purchased the venerable edifice and began repairing it to keep it standing.  The Arts and Crafts architect and designer Charles Robert Ashbee (1863-1942) and his wife lived in the courthouse. They used to invite groups of apprentices from London for arts-based holidays lasting a fortnight. In 1902, the Ashbees, whose bohemian activities disturbed the locals, left for Chipping Camden where they established the Guild of Handicrafts. In 1918, Ashbee was sent to Jerusalem as civic adviser to the British Administration for Palestine.  In 1937, the courthouse became used as a clinic by the area’s District Nurse. This continued after the NHS was established in 1948. The courtroom then served as a Welfare Clinic.

Between 1985 and 1987, the building was intensively restored. Now, the long room, which occupies most of the upper floor, and was once the court room, is now a village museum. It is reached by a steep flight of wooden stairs. The upper rooms are the only part of the building open to the public. The long courtroom has a timber floor made with irregularly shaped planks. The arched ceiling is supported by massive timber crossbeams. Each one differs in shape from the others. Various exhibits and boards with historic photographs line the walls of this otherwise empty room, in which long ago trials were held.

We visited Long Crendon to see the courthouse. However, many other buildings in this village are incredibly picturesque and well-worth exploring.