Memories of May Hill, and Ackers of Huntley. (General)

by Jefff , West London, Middlesex, Monday, July 01, 2013, 00:22 (4216 days ago) @ John Martin

Greetings John, welcome to the forum !
Thanks for your post, very interesting and so nice to read about your happy memories too. I'm afraid I know very little about May Hill, apparently I "climbed it" once as a small child but probably only to a very lowly base camp !. My mother was born in Longhope and married there during Coronation week June 1953, she recalls the planting of commemorative trees that year very well. She also mentions being tasked as kids to count the earlier Queen Victoria trees during picnic expeditions, allegedly one hundred but said to be "impossible to count, as if by magic"... By 1957 mum had moved from Longhope to Cinderford to start the family, her parents ran the Nags Head pub at Longhope from '53 until the mid 70s, so we often visited the area. During these plus many family outings to Gloster and the like we were always told to look out for the "Hill with trees", and I still do when driving over the Cotswolds to visit mum. I was saddened to read in the local papers that those trees don't have a happy future due to the terrible Blight, fingers crossed, or the local skyline may possibly be changed forever.
http://www.forest-and-wye-today.co.uk/featuresdetail.cfm?id=5188

There used to be an excellent Taynton Family History website which included a lovely piece about May Hill by a local author, but sadly that website has closed... The excellent Longhope Village website speaks about the Hill, but doesn't answer your query at all. http://www.longhopevillage.co.uk/history/mayhill/

This 1868 entry for nearby Aston Ingham describes May Hill as the "mariners landmark".
http://www.genuki.org.uk/big/eng/HEF/AstonIngham/Gaz1868.html

In this site we often refer to the superb Victoria British History website but as yet it doesn't include the Huntley area, probably as the relevant section has only just been finished
http://www.victoriacountyhistory.ac.uk/counties/gloucestershire/volumes/gloucestershire...
Luckily my mum has a copy of the book, when I visit in the next few weeks I'll look up the Cathedral Enclosure and hopefully will be able to add to this thread.

However further searching has found this delightful website which helps answer your question, I quote

" One of the dancers told us about a remarkable feature – hidden in the forest which adorns the flanks of the hill: a cathedral of trees. A Major CP Ackers, owner of the Huntley estate, planted trees in a full scale layout of Gloucester Cathedral (440 feet long, 200 feet across) – with redwoods, cypress and larch – in memory of his son, Flying Officer David Ackers, who died in action in 1944, aged 22. This beautiful and moving poetic act of remembrance – the ultimate memorial grove – was designed to be seen from the air. It is now hidden amongst the overgrown plantation – but one can catch a sense of it if pointed in the right direction, as I was, by Pete – bless him! This was a magical place to experience May morning – the polyphonic dawn chorus in full swing; the branches dripping with rain; the lush foliage all around me; the swathes of bluebells. Here I connected with the awakening Earth, and with all those who gathered to worship in such groves over Beltane – the organic, self-governing congregation of the cathedral of trees – whose roots stretch across the planet, connecting us all."
"I gladly joined the others in May Hill village hall for a lovely May Day breakfast The hall was beautifully laid out – with real foliage adorning the tables. Looking down over all was a portrait of David Ackers, eternally handsome and honoured (the hall had been also funded by his father)."

Thanks to Kevan for this great tale, the above article dated May 2012 is toward the end of the blog
http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/1104974.Kevan_Manwaring/blog

Contacting the Village Hall may give further info ?
http://mayhillvillage.com/page5.htm

This site has some stunning aerial photos of the Hill, can you find the Cathedral ?.
http://wyenot.com/mayhill.htm

Finally, here's a photo of Major Ackers OBE in his twilight years, at Huntley Manor fete in the 1950s.
http://www.sungreen.co.uk/Lydney-Glos/Scouts_at_Huntley.html

And a description of Huntley Manor and Estate from 1986.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/domesday/dblock/GB-368000-219000/page/12

I hope this helps with your pleasant memories,
ttfn Jeff.