389
© Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2021
M. C. Tobias, J. G. Morrison, On the Nature of Ecological Paradox,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-64526-7_43
Chapter 43
The Paradox of Solace
43.1 Local Transfigurations
The painter John Crome (1768–1821) died on what is now called Earth Day,
200 years ago. He left five known letters, approximately 300 oil paintings, 33 etchings, and a multitude of sketches and watercolors. When he passed away, the population of his native home, the East Anglian Norwich in England’s northeastern
Norfolk County, was just over 50,000. After London, it was England’s most bustling
city, having been established in 1094 along the chalk River Wensum, a tributary of
the River Yare and today a Special Area of Conservation, teeming with old mills,
bridges, remnants of a glorious medieval center, and a huge concatenation of native
flora and fauna
1
(Fig. 43.1).
World War II, particularly the Nazi Luftwaffe Baedeker raids at the end of April,
1942, damaged or destroyed more than 80% of all structures in Norwich: 2000
dwellings were obliterated, 229 people killed, over a 1000 injured.
2
Today, with 142,000 residents, and much of the city rebuilt, it is widely considered one of the most livable, charming congeries in all of Great Britain, with an
approximate equal number of pubs and historic churches, in one of which, St.
George’s Church, Crome lies buried. In another, the eleventh-/twelfth-century St.
Julian’s Church, the anchoress, Juliana (1343–1416), wrote the first book by a
female in documented English history, Revelations of Divine Love, in which, from
the very beginning, Jesus appears before her and shows her a hazelnut, which
1 Natural England, “Designated Sites View,” River Wensum SAC, https://designatedsites.naturalengland.org.uk/SiteGeneralDetail.aspx?SiteCode=UK0012647&SiteName=&countyCo
de=29&responsiblePerson=&unitId=&SeaArea=&IFCAArea=; And https://sac.jncc.gov.uk/site/
UK0012647. See also, https://www.visitnorfolk.co.uk/inspire/Seven-Natural-Wonders-of-Norfolk.
aspx; https://www.norfolkwildlifetrust.org.uk/gallery/all-photos; see also http://norfolknaturalists.
org.uk/wp/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/Trees_1_broadleaf.pdf. See also, See https://www.edp24.
co.uk/news/nine-beautiful-places-a-30-minute-drive-from-norwich-1-4440710.
2 “A History of Norwich,” http://www.oldcity.org.uk/norwich/history/history09.php.
© Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2021
M. C. Tobias, J. G. Morrison, On the Nature of Ecological Paradox,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-64526-7_43
Chapter 43
The Paradox of Solace
43.1 Local Transfigurations
The painter John Crome (1768–1821) died on what is now called Earth Day,
200 years ago. He left five known letters, approximately 300 oil paintings, 33 etchings, and a multitude of sketches and watercolors. When he passed away, the population of his native home, the East Anglian Norwich in England’s northeastern
Norfolk County, was just over 50,000. After London, it was England’s most bustling
city, having been established in 1094 along the chalk River Wensum, a tributary of
the River Yare and today a Special Area of Conservation, teeming with old mills,
bridges, remnants of a glorious medieval center, and a huge concatenation of native
flora and fauna
1
(Fig. 43.1).
World War II, particularly the Nazi Luftwaffe Baedeker raids at the end of April,
1942, damaged or destroyed more than 80% of all structures in Norwich: 2000
dwellings were obliterated, 229 people killed, over a 1000 injured.
2
Today, with 142,000 residents, and much of the city rebuilt, it is widely considered one of the most livable, charming congeries in all of Great Britain, with an
approximate equal number of pubs and historic churches, in one of which, St.
George’s Church, Crome lies buried. In another, the eleventh-/twelfth-century St.
Julian’s Church, the anchoress, Juliana (1343–1416), wrote the first book by a
female in documented English history, Revelations of Divine Love, in which, from
the very beginning, Jesus appears before her and shows her a hazelnut, which
1 Natural England, “Designated Sites View,” River Wensum SAC, https://designatedsites.naturalengland.org.uk/SiteGeneralDetail.aspx?SiteCode=UK0012647&SiteName=&countyCo
de=29&responsiblePerson=&unitId=&SeaArea=&IFCAArea=; And https://sac.jncc.gov.uk/site/
UK0012647. See also, https://www.visitnorfolk.co.uk/inspire/Seven-Natural-Wonders-of-Norfolk.
aspx; https://www.norfolkwildlifetrust.org.uk/gallery/all-photos; see also http://norfolknaturalists.
org.uk/wp/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/Trees_1_broadleaf.pdf. See also, See https://www.edp24.
co.uk/news/nine-beautiful-places-a-30-minute-drive-from-norwich-1-4440710.
2 “A History of Norwich,” http://www.oldcity.org.uk/norwich/history/history09.php.