3rd November is St Hubert’s Day. Hubert is the
patron saint of hunting, and he gained this role by virtue of having been a
hunter who was converted to Christianity when he saw a stag with a crucifix
between its antlers. Hubert had been hunting on Good Friday, and he took this
as a sign that he had better mend his ways. Perhaps he should therefore be the
patron saint of anti-hunt protestors instead!
Hubert was probably born around 656 in south-west France,
but became a courtier at the palace of the Frankish King Pepin at Metz (eastern
France). After his conversion he entered the service of Bishop Lambert at
Maastricht (southern Netherlands). The bishop sent him to live as a hermit in
the Ardennes Forest.
Lambert was murdered around the year 705 in what was then
the small village of Liège. Hubert was elected as his successor and moved the
seat of his diocese (along with Lambert’s bones) from Maastricht to Liège,
which then grew to become, eventually, a major city. Lambert is today
recognised as the patron saint of the diocese and Hubert as patron saint of the
city. Hubert died in 727, having performed much missionary work within the
Ardennes region.
There is a very interesting addendum to this story, in that
a tiny church dedicated to St Hubert stands, all alone, in a field in southern
Hampshire (see photo above). This is the parish church of Idsworth, but there is no village of
that name. The original Idsworth House was demolished in the mid 19th
century when the London to Portsmouth railway was built, and a new house was
built several miles away.
The church is Saxon in origin (dating from 1053) and was
originally dedicated to St Peter, but in 1864, during a restoration, extensive
14th century murals were discovered that showed scenes that were
believed to be of the life of St Hubert (although this is now doubted). The
church was re-dedicated to St Hubert, and it continues to be used for worship
to this day, although it has to be approached via a path through the fields!
A personal note – when I first met my wife she was living at
the new Idsworth House (converted into flats and other accommodation units) and
was a member of the Parochial Church Council of St Hubert’s church. She was
looking after a horse at the time (which I tried riding but fell off!) and I
have a vivid memory of mucking out its field, which was on the site of the old
Idsworth House, as the trains roared by not far from the church that had been
there for more than 900 years!
© John Welford
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