Tags
Clouds Hill, Dorset, Lawrence of Arabia, Moreton, Moreton Tea Rooms, motorcycle, motorcycling, River Frome, St Nicholas and St Magnus Church Moreton, T E Lawrence, tea., Wall Garden Moreton
The village of Moreton is a very interesting place. You can stand on the pedestrian bridge over the River Frome and watch the world go by. You can walk across the ford through the River Frome if you like, but I don’t recommend that from my personal experience, unless you’re wearing something on your feet! The windows, engraved by Sir Laurence Whistler, at St. Nicholas and St. Magnus Church are breathtaking. There is a walled garden, with a cafe and a farm shop [where we had our first pot of tea], which is opposite the Moreton Tea Room [where we had our second pot of tea].
Moreton is also the final resting place of T. E Lawrence, more popularly known as Lawrence of Arabia, although he was motorcycling around this particular corner of Dorset at a time in his life when he wanted to escape his celebrity status. We visited the grave, which is very well kept, but it was the motorcycle parked outside the Moreton Tea Rooms that got me thinking. Lawrence was a keen motorcyclist and it didn’t take a great leap of the imagination to picture him motorcycling through Moreton, down Hurst Road, passed the Old School House on his way back to his cottage at Clouds Hill.
If you want to see a photograph of Clouds Hill, which is quite a remarkable building, follow this link to a previous Photo Archive post here: Photo Archive: Clouds Hill, Dorset, June 2011.