A Leafy Land

A Leafy Land To the North and East, green sloped Downs above The Weald* of Kent. Beneath, the Pilgrim’s Way Where Monk, traveller and Penitent walked And Chaucer wrote of the Canturbury Tales. A land of ancient paths; Chestnut and Oak, Where Kings and Princes held castle towers. Oast Houses; beacons to ancient crafts, Red brick, half timbered dwellings, pan tiled roofs.** Meadows of buttercup and columbine. A historic land of hops and fruit. A leafy land where Jute and Saxon came. To the South, the bleak and lonely Marshes, A land of sheep and one time smuggler’s haunts. Then to the West, high chalk Downs and Sussex. Beyond, the sea surging on shingled shores Where the Saxon yielded to Norman Sword. * Weald – Saxon – A forested or uncultivated tract of land. Probably related to ‘wild’. **Pan tiles - A type of pan baked clay tile used in the Eastern counties of Scotland and England, rarely in other parts of the Country. First imported from Holland in the early 17th Century. 06/11/17