Page 32 - The Devil's Arsonist
P. 32
Chapter 15
The Flames of Boudicca
The Burning of Colchester Circa 60AD
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Saturday Morning 10 December 1994, Prasutagus House, Woodham Ferrers, Essex
On this dark morning which promised only a terrifying and ever present foreboding, I,
Elisabeth and Snuggles ventured out to the home of Morwenna, Ned’s younger sister. As we
approached its threshold, both of us were aware of the great storm to come; a storm not borne
of rain, thunder and lightning, but of fear, terror and horror. Morwenna’s was a house frozen
in the past, for it soon became clear that naught of the modern world crossed its threshold;
unchanged from the time when it belonged to the steward of the local Lord of the Manor,
three and more centuries gone. Its timber framed walls with wattle and daub infill remained
as if fresh as did its pantiled roof and wooden leaded light windows. No electricity, piped gas,
telephone or running water was to be found within; light was by candle and oil lamp; water
was from its well and all food and warmth came from a woodburning stove. It was a house
that lived in the distant past; yet no horror or evil had ever visited here; only warmth and love
pervaded its walls.
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