STOKE
MANDEVILLE IN THE
TWENTY-FIRST CENTUR-KNEE!
 |
On May 13th 2000, the new Stoke Mandeville millennium sign was unveiled. Standing on a brick plinth on the green outside the village school, the specially-commissioned sign depicts aspects of village life over the centuries. The 'Mandeville' suffix comes from Geoffrey de Mandeville who held the entire village in 1254. The top panel of the sign depicts the church of St Mary, and in the foreground, an Elizabethan girl, Dorathye Brudenell, whose family were extensive local landowners from 1409 to 1639. The red-and-gold coat of arms is that of the De Mandevilles and the ducks are Aylesburys – large, almost geese-sized birds, bred for the table. The bottom right panel shows a Bucks lacemaker and the left, a wheelchair athlete, in recognition of the Paralympics and other disabled sporting events staged at the Ludvig Guttmann stadium, which have made the name of Stoke Mandeville internationally famous. The coat of arms between the lower panels is that of the Brudenell family. The crow perched on top of the sign illustrates the old saying, 'Stoke – where there are more crows than folk!" A more up-to-date description of the village is, "Where there are more knees than crows." Unfortunately, there are no knees incorporated in the design, so when we get the opportunity and some noble visitors arrive, we add some of our own. (Puzzled about the Knees Club? Full explanation here.) |
The World's nobility visits the village
