Taeppa's Mound in the old churchyard, Taplow
Introduction
The photograph on this page of Taeppa's Mound in the old churchyard, Taplow by Stefan Czapski as part of the Geograph project.
The Geograph project started in 2005 with the aim of publishing, organising and preserving representative images for every square kilometre of Great Britain, Ireland and the Isle of Man.
There are currently over 7.5m images from over 14,400 individuals and you can help contribute to the project by visiting https://www.geograph.org.uk
Taeppa's Mound in the old churchyard, Taplow
Image: © Stefan Czapski Taken: 13 Jan 2014
In Domesday Book Taplow appears as Thapeslau http://domesdaymap.co.uk/place/SU9182/taplow/ - a name which scholars interpret as meaning 'the burial place of Taeppa', It is said that Taeppa was an Anglo-Saxon chieftain, and when the mound was excavated in 1883 opulent grave-goods were found, along with a fragmentary skeleton - enabling the site to be dated to circa 620 AD. The Anglo-Saxon barrow stands on a hilltop overlooking the Thames, within the area later enclosed as St Nicolas' churchyard. A church which stood nearby was demolished in Victorian times, in connection with the building of Taplow Court. What has come to light more recently is that an earlier - Anglo-Saxon - church once occupied the site:http://www.indigogroup.co.uk/edge/Taplow.htm So it seems that less than a century after the burial of Taeppa, the pagan site was adopted by early Christians. Whatever the archaeological evidence, this is a memorable spot - the Anglo-Saxon barrow in among the battered 18th century tombs, and all enclosed within the grounds of Taplow Court. The place leaves you with a powerful impression of the layers of human history.
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Image Location
Latitude
51.531088
Longitude
-0.695137