Welcome to Sevenhampton
FOR those bereft of private transport, Sevenhampton is all but cut-off from the rest of the county. Incredible when you think this tiny hamlet of 20 or 30 houses is actually no more than a 20-minute bus ride (if buses actually travelled there) from the Swindon's bus station
But it's worth a visit, if only to pay homage to one of the UK's best-known authors. Someone whose gold-plated typewriter turned the vodka martini (shaken, you understand, not stirred) into the world's most iconic drink.
Yet despite the cultural phenomenon spawned by this ex-navy intelligence officer's suave, urbane creation, nothing in this village exists to indicate that the author of one of Britain's best loved exports lies buried here, together with his wife, Ann, and son, Caspar. Indeed, it seems almost incomprehensible that Ian Fleming, who gave the world the double-zero prefix and Pussy Galore, should lie so undisturbed in such a modest little grave.
True, instead of a gravestone, there is an obelisk within the 20 or so other gravestones that neatly surround Fleming's last resting place, but cast aside any thoughts of grandeur - it is a plain, very modest memorial that gives no hint that the body lying beneath entrusted to the world the jewel that is Bond . . . James Bond.
The village is home to a collection of houses so perfect and picture-postcard pretty you could be forgiven for thinking you'd wandered into an episode of The X-Files. A single red phone box even boasts a Yellow Pages - in perfect condition, with not a single page torn or even creased.
The church itself is small but perfectly formed, another delightful miniature and falls under the umbrella of the parish of St Michael and All Angels, Highworth, the deanery of Swindon and the diocese of Bristol.
Fleming's grave is to the left of the church gate, along a well-kept path, looking forlorn and austere. The memorial simply reads: "In Memoriam Ian Fleming B 28 May 1908 D 12 Aug 1964. Omnia perfunctus vitae praemia marces". Buried with him is his wife Ann: "Ann Geraldine Mary Fleming 1913-1981. There is none like her, none" and his son, Caspar: "Caspar Robert Fleming 1952 - 1975: To cease upon the midnight with no pain".
Fact File
- Ian Lancaster Fleming was born on May 28, 1908 into a wealthy family, which owned Fleming's Bank. Like his brother Peter, the writer of many popular travel books, has was educated at Eton.
- Fleming died of heart failure at the age of 56 in 1964. Fleming bought the demolished Warneford Place, formerly the home of Lord Banbury, in 1960. He moved in with his wife Ann when building on the new Sevenhampton Place was completed three years later.
- The Flemings already had a home in Jamaica, but Sevenhampton was regarded as his true home, albeit for a brief period before his death, and he kept in touch with local affairs. He became vice-president of Swindon Artists' Society, made donations to local clubs and backed his prospective Tory MP Charles Morrision in 1964.
- 0070 was the German diplomatic code used to send the Zimmerman telegram from Berlin to Washington. According to a report in the Swindon Advertiser, dated August 15, 1964.
- The closest you can get to Sevenhampton via public transport is the South Marston Industrial Park. Dropped there by the No.7 bus, it's a further two-mile hike to the village by way of a long and winding road, passing along the way the Maranatha Christian School.
|
|
Search
Thousands of Jobs,
Homes & Cars from the Gazette and Herald
| Powered by |
|
|
|
| | | | | | | Eating out | Read our reviews of restaurants across the region
|
| | | | |
