Hilly Fields Midsummer Fayre

Friends of Hilly Fields Quiz

Lots of people almost won a prize in this year’s Hilly Fields Quiz (at the BrocSoc Midsummer Fayre) but only three people got all 10 questions right. Well done to Clement Harper, Richard Hebditch and Eleanor Saunders who share vouchers for the Pistachios cafe.

Here are the questions. If you didn’t do the quiz on the day and want to test yourself now, go ahead. There are no prizes except possibly the glow of satisfaction if you chalk up a decent score. The answers are below the questions.

Questions

1. Which kind of parakeet can be seen and heard in Hilly Fields?
(i) the Wring-necked Parakeet; (ii) the Wrong-necked Parakeet; (iii) the Ring-necked Parakeet; (iv) the Hen-pecked Parakeet.

2. How far above sea level is Hilly Fields?
(i) 175 inches; (ii) 175 feet; (iii) 175 yards; (iv) 53.34000 metres

3. The bowling club on Hilly Fields is named after which famous Elizabethan sailor?
(i) Francis Drake; (ii) Richard Grenville; (iii) John Hawkins; (iv) Walter Raleigh

4. What is the name of the college on Hilly Fields?
(i) Pendergrass; (ii) Prendergass; (iii) Prendergast; (iv) Prenderghast

5. Octavia Hill who helped save Hilly Fields from building development in the 1890s went on to co-found which famous national institution?
(i) Cheltenham Ladies College; (ii) The National Trust; (iii) the Women’s Social and Political Union; (iv) the Women’s Institute.

6. ‘Once there were nightingales that sang in the gardens in Loampit Hill…Once the Hilly Fields were hill fields where the children played and there were primroses.’ The author of this quote lived in Elswick Rd, Lewisham, and wrote ‘The Railway Children’. Who was she?
(i) Edith Cavell: (ii) Dame Edith Evans; (iii) Edith Nisbet; (iv) Edith Piaf.

7. The Friends planted poppies and cornflowers last year to commemorate the 100th anniversary of WW1. The cornflower is the remembrance flower of which country?
(i) Belgium; (ii) France; (iii) Luxembourg; (iv) Switzerland.

8. Which animals from Lewisham police station are exercised on Hilly Fields?
(i) Cats; (ii) Dogs; (iii) Hawks; (iv) Horses.

9. Every year, a traditional ceremony is held in the Hilly Fields orchard to ward off evil spirits and ensure a good crop of fruit. What is it called?
(i) Beating the bounds; (ii) Cheese rolling; (iii) Morris dancing; (iv) Wassailing.

10. The Hilly Fields cafe belongs to which chain of park cafes?
(i) Brazils; (ii) Filberts; (iii) Pecans; (iv) Pistachios.

Answers

1. (iii) the Ring-necked Parakeet.

2. Both (ii) and (iv) are correct.

3. (i) Sir Francis Drake.

4. (iii) Prendergast.

5. (ii) The National Trust.

6. Answer: (iii) Edith Nesbit (thanks to those who pointed out the typo). Edith Cavell was a brave nurse shot by German firing squad in Oct 1915; Dame Edith Evans was an actress; Edith Piaf was a French chanteuse who regretted nothing.

7. (ii) France.

8. (iv) Horses.

9. Answer: (iv) Wassailing. Beating the Bounds is a walk around parish boundaries; Cheese rolling takes place every year at Cooper’s Hill in Gloucestershire; Morris dancing takes place sometimes while beating the bounds but not usually while cheese rolling http://www.freewebs.com/dacre-morris/

10. (iv) Pistachios.

Every year for the BrocSoc Midsummer Fayre, we produce a Hilly Fields quiz. It’s a good old-fashioned paper and pen quiz which is completed at the Friends stall and tests your knowledge of our beautiful park.  This year, nearly fifty brave people had a go and although some of the questions were challenging, most of you did well. Four people got all ten questions right and they will share the prize which is vouchers to spend at the cafe.

If you missed the quiz but would like to test your knowledge, here are the ten questions. Just find a sheet of paper and pen and scribble down your answers, then scroll down beyond the photo to find our answers. Please note that this is purely for your entertainment and edification as it’s too late to win a prize!

Questions

Choose one from the possible answers given after each question.

1.  Which social reformer (with an appropriate surname) helped save Hilly Fields from building development in the 1890s?

Answer: a. Octavia Hill; b. Margaret McMillan; c. Emmeline Pankhurst

2.  How many stones are there in the Hilly Fields stone circle?

Answer: a. 8;  b. 10;  c12;  d.16

3.  Where in the park can you find a mural (or’frieze’) of Hilly Fields painted by Evelyn Dunbar in 1934?

Answer: a. In the cafe; b. In Prendergast College; c. In the children’s playground

4.  Who wrote and recorded the legendary retro-psychedelic song ‘Hilly Fields (1892)’ – partly a ‘tribute to Lewisham’s real life Hilly Fields park’?

Answer: a. Dick Dicely; b. Nick Nicely; c. Rick Ricely; d. Vic Vicely.

5. A new elm tree was planted in the park last year to commemorate an event which occurred in 2012. Was it?

Answer: a. The London Olympics; b. the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee; c. UK coming 25th in the Eurovision Song Contest.

6. One of these birds nested in a hole in a Hilly Fields tree this spring. Was it?

Answer: a. Great Black-backed Gull; b. Great Spotted Woodpecker; c. Great Crested Grebe; d. Great Northern Diver.]

7. Which one of these sporting activities can you not do on Hilly Fields?

Answer: a. running; b. swimming; c. tennis; d. calisthenic workouts; e. table tennis.

8. Which one of these hills can you not see from Hilly Fields?

Answer: a. Blythe Hill; b. Richmond Hill; c. Shooter’s Hill; d. Sydenham Hill.

9. Which well-known author lived as a boy on Eastern Rd facing Hilly Fields?

Answer: a. Henry James; b. Henry Miller; c. O’Henry; d. Henry Williamson.

10.  Which animals used to graze on Hilly Fields in the good old days?

Answer: a. deer; b. sheep; c. kune-kune pigs; d. alpaca

Answers 

1.  Octavia Hill

2. 12 stones. It”s an analemmatic sundial and each stone represents an hour in the day.

3. In Prendergast College

4. All four names were ticked by somebody or other, but the correct answer is Nick Nicely and you can find his masterpiece here.

5. The Queen’s Golden Jubilee.

6. Great Spotted Woodpecker. The other three are aquatic birds and don’t nest in trees.

7. Swimming. Someone did suggest we should have a pond on Hilly Fields, but for ducks rather than humans.

8. Richmond Hill. Blythe Hill and Sydenham Hill can be seen to the south; Shooter’s Hill to the east.

9. Henry Williamson (see the plaque on the frontage of 21 Eastern Rd). The other Henrys spent their boyhoods somewhere in America.

10. Sheep.