History
Wintour's Leap is named after Royalist Sir John Wintour who, hotly pursued on his horse by Parliamentary forces, according to local myth survived a leap off the cliff and, landing safely in the Wye below, swam to his safety in the nearby Chepstow Castle. In fact, Wintour did escape from the Roundheads by using the river nearby on two separate occasions, but from less spectacular positions at Lancaut and Sedbury.
Sir John Wintour was a second son and so descendants from his line along the Waite family traditionally name their second sons with the middle name 'Wintour', although the name has been given to female descendants also.
Read more about this topic: Wintour's Leap
Famous quotes containing the word history:
“Anything in history or nature that can be described as changing steadily can be seen as heading toward catastrophe.”
—Susan Sontag (b. 1933)
“I saw the Arab map.
It resembled a mare shuffling on,
dragging its history like saddlebags,
nearing its tomb and the pitch of hell.”
—Adonis [Ali Ahmed Said] (b. 1930)
“The best history is but like the art of Rembrandt; it casts a vivid light on certain selected causes, on those which were best and greatest; it leaves all the rest in shadow and unseen.”
—Walter Bagehot (1826–1877)