Newsletter
9 Winter 1976/77
…………………………………………………..
BROMYARD CHURCH
BELLS Edna
D. Pearson
The association of
bells with religious ceremonies dates from earliest times. By
the 7th and 8th centuries their use was general in Christian
churches. Bede mentions a bell brought from Italy for his abbey
at Wearmouth. They were originally small, but larger bells began
to be cast in the 13th century. In medieval times, owing to the
difficulty of transport they were frequently cast near to the
church by itinerant craftsmen.
Besides calling
people to worship at stated times, in the absence of clocks they
served to mark the time of day. In pre-reformation days on
Sundays and feast days, mass was usually celebrated at 9 o’clock
and this custom of ringing the bell at 9 o’clock apparently
survived in Bromyard until the beginning of this century for in
November 1904, a letter to the Editor of the ‘News and Record
reads: ‘Why has the 9 o’clock bell ceased to ring on Sunday
mornings at the Parish Church? It has rung to my knowledge for
the last 60 years and probably for hundreds of years before.
That with this and the curfew bell not ringing the next step
will be to do away with the bells altogether’. The curfew was
introduced by William the Conqueror and was rung at sunset in
summer and 8 o’clock in winter as a signal that all lights and
fires should be extinguished. It was abolished by Henry I, but
the custom of ringing the bell persisted through the centuries
and indeed is still rung in some places today.
For centuries it
has been the enthusiastic teams of bell-ringers that made
Britain known as ‘the ringing isle’. In Tudor times foreigners
accused us of being ‘vastly fond of great noises that fill the
ear such as the firing of cannon, drums and the ringing of
bells, so that in London it is common for a number of them that
have a glass in their heads to go up into some belfry and ring
the bells for hours together for the sake of exercise’.
Seldom a day passed
without one or all church bells ringing or tolling for one cause
or another; sometimes for a birth or a marriage, almost always
for a death, perhaps to call people to a meeting or prayer and
always to celebrate any event of national importance.
There are many
accounts of payments to the ringers in the Bromyard
church-wardens’ accounts. Ringing is a thirsty occupation and,
after the great overhaul of the bells in 1752, an entry for
November 11th reads: ‘Ringers had in drink the first time the
Bells was Ringed 5/-’ which, considering the cheapness of ale at
that time, must have provided a prodigious amount of
refreshment.
Bell-ringing also
took place on each anniversary of the Sovereign’s coronation for
which they were paid 5/-. There must have been prolonged ringing
at King George III’s accession. ‘Pd for ringing Proclaiming
George ye 3rd King £1.1.0.’ There were further celebrations
later for ‘expenses at the Coronation’ were £12.0.O. and 14
pounds of candles to ‘Luminate the Church’ cost 7/-.
National rejoicing
at victories over the country’s enemies was always an excuse for
ringing and each year until 1752 the bells on November 5th
reminded people of the failure of the Gunpowder Plot. Ringers
were given 2/6 in 1748 when peace was declared ending the war of
the Austrian Succession.
An account for
November 1745, ‘Paid ye Ringers at ye victory over the Rebels
2/6’ celebrated the failure of the Jacobite invasion of England.
The hopes of the faithful few supporters of the Stuart case had
been centred on the attractive young Charles Edward (‘Bonnie
Prince Charlie’). Landing, almost unattended, in Scotland in
July 1745 he gathered an army and at first met with some
success. He held court at Edinburgh and decided to march into
England, hoping that the English sympathisers would rise, but
neither the gentry nor others came forward. He advanced as far
as Derby and then lost heart and retreated to Scotland where the
rebellion was finally crushed in the following April.
In November 1776
the ringers celebrated the taking of New York from the colonists
in the War of American Independence. In 1782 the French were
supporting the Colonists and Admiral Rodney won a great victory
and Bromyard ‘gave the Ringers when Rodney took the French
Admiral and shipping 6/-’. There was a general’ thanksgiving for
the King’s restoration to health in April 1788 and the ringers
received 10/6.
In October 1797
‘when the Dutch Fleet was taken by Admiral Duncan at Camperdown
they were paid 5/-, but the national exultation over Nelson’s
victory over the’ French at the Battle of the Nile, in spite of
the dilapidated condition of the Church tower, must have been
celebrated by prolonged ringing for the ringers received the
large sum of 14/6. Then considering these figures the effects of
inflation in the last two centuries must be borne in mind. In
more recent times Bromyard ringers rang a fully muffled 5040
changes Grandsire Doubles in 2 hours 56 minutes on the death of
King George VI. This was said to be the first time a fully
muffled peal had been rung on the bells of the Parish Church.
In 1786 the ringers
were given 6/- at Christmas. This entry does not appear again,
but possibly it became a custom in later years for the Bromyard
Deanery Magazine for January 1914 states ‘As usual our Christmas
offerings were given to the bell ringers. This year they
amounted to £8.12.4.’ When Mr. Richard Phipps was at Buckenhill
he made them an annual donation. Mr. Phipps died in 911. In
April 1919 the ringers were dissatisfied with their
remuneration and intimated to the People’s Warden their dislike
of going round at Easter collecting subscriptions for themselves
and asked that they should be paid an annual sum of £14 for
their services for the year. After discussion it was decided
that they should be paid £12. At the present time the ringers
are a voluntary body and any payment received for their services
goes into a fund for the maintenance of the bells.
The first we hear
of the Bromyard bells is an entry in the Register of Bishop
Stanbury on April 12th, 1472 when the Bishop granted an
indulgence that is a remission in God’s name of punishment for
sins committed, provided that the sinner repented and made
payment to some good work. In this case to any who would help in
the restoration of the church at Bromyard and the belfry and
be1ls which had been damaged by lightening.
Repairs were
obviously done and the bells replaced for, at the Reformation
when Commissioners were sent to list the contents of all
churches, the Inventory dated 4 June 1553 lists Five ‘great
bells whereof the least is 32 inches the second 35 inches the
third 40 inches the fourth is 45 inches and the fifth is 50
inches broad at the mouth’
The bells we
allowed to remain and were doubtless well used and cared for. In
the Parish Register it is recorded that in 1678 :
‘The ffive old
Bel1s were cast into sixe newe belles.
The first Belle
wayeth Sixe Hundred and a halfe and twelve poundes.
The Second Belle
wayeth Severn hundred and three quarters and Eight Poundes.
The Third Belle
wayeth Nine Hundred and an Halfe and twelve poundes.
The fforthe Belle
wayeth Eight Hundred and an Halfe and ffifteen poundes.
The ffifte Belle
wtyeth twe_ve hunured and one quarter and sixe poundes
The Sixte Belle
wayeth ffifteen Hundred and one quarter and three poundes.
At ye casting of ye
fourthe Belle of second time there was an addition of mettle.
So ye fourthe Belle
wayeth Nine Hundred and three quarters and Twenty severn pounds.
Unfortunately there
are no church wardens accounts extant before 1723. It is
recorded that the son of John of Guest, Vicar 1743 – 1760, took
the books to Hereford and they were never returned. In 1743 the
little bell was sent to Mr. Abraham Rudhall Junr. Of Gloucester
to be exchanged for a new one. From 1734 onwards there are
frequent payments relating to the bells and the ringers. In July
and December there is a payment of eight pence ‘for oyle for the
bells’.
The condition of
the bells still gave cause for concern and Mr. Rudhall of
Gloucester was asked to come and give his opinion concerning the
fifth bell. His report was unfavourable and it was decided to
recast all the bells.
The Ringing world’
of July 19th 1974, quotes a notice which appeared in the
‘Gloucester Journal’ of June 11th, 1751:
‘This is to Give
NOTICE THAT THE FIFTH BELL belonging to the Town and Parish of
Bromyard hath been thro’ misfortune broken, and must be
forthwith cast. Application has been made to Mr. RUDHALL of
Gloucester, by the Churchwarden, to know the Charge, which he
says will amount to near 20£. But the rest of the Bells being so
untunable that the Parish appl’d to the Bell Founder aforesaid
concerning the Casting of the whole Peal (as it is the opinion
of all who are Judges that there is not a worse Peal of Bells in
England) to encourage them he says he will cast the whole Peal
for about 5O£. And to prevent the Thing’s being done at the
Parish Expense, several therein, according to their Abilities,
have offer’d to contribute very honourable; and, as they could
not think of a properer Method of recommending this Undertaking
to the neighbouring Gentlemen than inserting it in this Paper,
they hope it will meet with Encouragement which will be
gratefully acknowledged by the Town and Parish aforesaid.
N.B. - Please
pay the Subscription - Money into the hands of the Rev. Mr.
Guest or Mr. Tho Williams, Churchwarden’.
The Churchwardens’
Accounts give details of the, bells cast in the year 1752 with
-their weight:
Cwt.
Q. lb.
1.
7 0 24
2. 7
3
6
3. 8
2 13
4 9
0 12
5.
10 0 8
6.
15 1 i8
Then follows an
interesting list of payments. A considerable sum of money had to
be found. The Bishop had to be informed, a faculty had to be
obtained and influential people were contacted. There were
journeys to Ludlow and Hereford ‘to wait on Veltus Cornwell’.
Veltus Cornwall of’ Moccas had been M.P. for Herefordshire for
46 years. He died in 1768.
The Harley family
of Brampton Bryan had long and distinguished connections with
Herefordshire. ‘Sir Robert Harley, chosen as Knight of the Shire
of Hereford, had a notable career. His son, Sir Edward, became
M.P. for Hereford and another Sir Edward was M.P. for Leominster
from 1698-1715. Robert Harley, the first Earl of Oxford died at
Brampton Bryan in 1724. The accounts continue:
Spent
with Mr. Rudhall when come over concerning the
fifth
Bell
0. 4. 0.
Horse
Hyer Mr. Chambers
0.
1. 0.
Expenses to Hereford to Waite on the Bishop
0. 4. 6.
Had in
Drink when went abt with the Subscription Paper
0. 1. 3.
Going
to Ludlow to Waite on Veltus Cornwell Esq.
8. 3.
Going
to Waite on Veltus Cornwell Esq. to Hereford
5 0.
For
Tatting Down and Weighing the
Bells 0. 13. 6.
Paid
William Stephens for Drawning Two Copies of
Subscription papers for London
0. 3. 6.
Two
post letters in that acct.
0. 0. 8.
Paid
Mr. Pillmer and Mr. Beavern for Taking’ the Bells
to
Worcs.
2. 2. 0.
My
Horse and Expense the, same time to Worcester
0. 5.
6.
Paid at the Key for
unloading and putting in the Barge 0. 2.
9.
Two journeys to Mr.
Chambers 0.
2. 0.
At Michaelmas
Sessions to wait on Ld Harley 0.
4. 9.
Two journeys to
Gloucester to article with Mr. Rudhall
the Bell founder
and other, business on yt account 0.
19. 9.
Pd. Mr. Blunt for
poles 0.
0. 8.
Pd William Jones
for hoops for the Bell Wheels 0.
5. 3.
Thos. Mitchell and
the post boy for going to the Key
Several times to
enquire after the Bells
0. 1. 3.
James Knowles for
Horse Hyre for the Bell Hanger to go
to Gloucester to
forward ye bells
0. 3. 6.
His expenses in
going
0. 6. 0.
Pd Mr. Pilliner and
Mr. Beavern for bringing the Bells
back
from Worcester
2. 5. 0.
Pd the Turnpike at
Bromyard and Worcester 0.
6. 0.
Pd the Water Bayley
0. 2. 0.
Pd the Bargmen for
hoisting the bells into ye wagon 0.
3. 0.
Pd for Tackling of
another Barge yt being not strong enough 0. 2. 0.
Expenses at the Old
Unicorn for the 5 men and two Waggons 0. 16.
0.
Expenses upon the
Road from Worcester 0.
2. 6.
My Horse
Hyer
0. 1. 6.
Their Suppers at
night after come home 0.
5. 6.
Pd for help to
unload the Bells
0. 4. 6.
Pd for help to get
up the Great Bell
0. 6. 0.
Pd for help to get
up the Rest of the bells
0. 11. 9.
Pd for candles at
,Several times in bellhangers work
and fitting up the
bells in the Tower
0. 2. 7.
Rawlings for
assisting 3
days
0. 2. 3.
Pd Mr. Abel Rudhall
for casting the Bells 48.
3. 6.
Pd the Trow men for
taking the bells down
and bringing them
up.
1. 16. 0.
Paid Phineas
Phillips for hawling weights to weigh the bells 0.
3. 0.
Pd Thos Moxam by
bill 1.
8. 2 1/2
Pd for 15 post
letters from Gloucester 0.
5. 0.
Pd Mr. Rudhall’s
charge for 15 post letters to Gloucester 0.
5. 0.
gave Mr. Rudhalls
men at Twice in Drink
0. 3. 0.
Pd Thos. Moxam by
bill
1. 6. 0.
Pd William Baylis
by
bill
10. 7. 0.
Pd Mr. Cook the
bell hanger
10. 10. 0.
Pd the Clerks wife
for cleaning the Church at time 0.
1. 9.
Pd Geo
Parnam for Taking Down the 5 Bells
0. 6. 0.
Pd Thos
Moxam for the use of his pooleys
0. 2. 6.
For Wm
Cook Bellhanger Board 5 weeks
1. 0. 0.
88.
2. 7.
Subscriptions
52. 6. 0.
Due to
C. Wardens over and above subscription
35. 16. 7.
A charge of
£1.8.9. for obtaining a faculty casting the bells was added
later.
The entries are of
interest for they give quite a vivid picture of the task of
transporting heavy loads. Roads were bad and it was both safer
and cheaper to take the bells to Worcester and make the journey
to Gloucester by water. There must have been some anxious
moments when the bells proved too heavy for the barge
originally selected.
Apart from an entry
in February 1755 for mending the great bell wheel and another in
1764 for repairing the great bell wheel and better fixing of all
the wheels there is no further mention of the bells in the
churchwardens’ records.
In July 1792 the
church was presented in the Bishop’s Court as being ‘in a
ruinous and dangerous condition’. For some years past there had
been occasional payments for clearing snow out of the bell and
clock room, but in spite of this the bells continued to ring
until the end of the century when extensive repairs were made to
the whole church including the tower, but at the end of the 19th
century repairs were again necessary. A meeting was called in
1887 mentioning the state of the north transept and the tower,
but apparently nothing was done until after another meeting in
November 1896 when the vicar called for ‘active steps’ to
restore the north transept, repair the tower and other parts of
the church. Through the generosity of Mr. Richard Phipps of
Buckenhill the south transept had been restored and he now said
he would be pleased to put a new ceiling in the tower. During
the year 1899-1900 much work was done to the belfry and ringing
chamber. The bells were rehung and the 5th bell recast. A new
clock was also erected. The actual sum spent on rehanging etc of
the bells and the new clock amounted to £252. 6.9.
During the
1914-1918 war the ringers were obviously disorganised and
possibly disbanded. The Bromyard News and Record of 2 March 1922
reads ‘It is to be hoped that the Parish Church bells will peal
again. A meeting was held last Wednesday to discuss the matter
of bellringers. Mr. Palmer Churchwarden presided. It was decided
to organise a band of voluntary ringers, twelve in number. Mr.
F.T. Miles consented to form this and 6 of those present
promised to join.’ In the following January the annual meeting
of the Herefordshire Deanery Bellringers Guild was held at
Bromyard and the Towers of Bromyard, Bredenbury, Pencombe and
Whitbourne were represented and also the Towers of Kimbolton and
Berrington-on-Wye; but in September 1924 the bells were declared
unsafe for ringing and were to receive attention.
In February 1935
one corner of the bell frame had lost its support, the frame was
distorted and it was considered inadvisable to have continuous
ringing. An estimate of repairs had been obtained in 1933 and
these were carried out by Messrs. Stainbank of London. The
belfry was reopened in July, the repairs costing £83.16.O. In
April 1936 the P.C.C. reported that the fabric of the church was
in excellent condition and that during the last year the bells
had been rehung, but two years later it was known that timbers
in the belfry had been damaged by the ravages of the death watch
beetle and an architect had advised replacement.
with the outbreak
of war in 1939 the ringing of church bells was forbidden and
only to be used as an emergency signal. An exception was made on
Sunday 9th November 1942 when permission was given for ringers
to celebrate the victory in North Africa.
After the war, when
ringers were reassembled and recruited, deterioration and
movement was apparent. Advice was obtained from the bell
founders in 1966 and it was realised that very heavy expenditure
would need to be incurred. A committee was appointed to find
means of raising the sum of £2000.
With the permission
of the P.C.C. it was decided to ask for interest free loans of
£10 each. These were to be repayable at intervals over the next
ten years. In 1967 the response was immediate and generous and
not only from church members. However the money loaned was soon
returned owing to the generosity of Mrs. Maggie Dowson who gave
£2,750 as a memorial to her late husband, George Granville
Dowson to defray the expense of a new frame and one new bell
hell. Mr T. Cooper the ringing master, had already offered to
give a new treble bell in thank-offering for his many years of
ringing.
In October 1967 the
bells were dismantled and sent to John Taylor’s foundry at
Loughborough for retuning while two new bells were cast, the
treble (given by Thomas Cooper in 1968) weighing 4 cwt 17 lbs
and the second (in loving memory of George Granville Dowson) 5
cwt 6 lbs.
Work in the bell
chamber was done by voluntary labour and in March 1968 a new
steel and iron frame to take eight bells was put in the tower by
the bell founder. A piece of oak dated 1678 was found in the old
frame with the inscription ‘Rie Hunt medic dedit’. The work was
completed and on Friday 5th April 1968 the Bishop of
Hereford, the Right Rev. M.A. Hodson, dedicated the restored
bells and the two new bells making a fine ring of eight. In July
of the following year a Surprise Major Peal of 5056 changes was
rung at St. Peter’s in 2 hors 50 minutes to be known as
Bromyards Surprise Major.
…………………………………………………………………………………………………………
TRANSPORT
HISTORY RESEARCH Martin J.
Perry
My detailed
research into the development of road and rail communications in
Bromyard is continuing, and the recent acquisition of a copy of
the official Midland Red Worcester Area time-table book for 1950
has prompted me to make some comparisons between BMMO services
in that year, and their level of operation in Bromyard in 1977.
The immediate
post-war years, with their restrictions on car ownership, petrol
availability, and lesser degree of car-owning affluence when
compared with the present, naturally meant that patronage of bus
services was at a high level - indeed, the year 1952 is today
generally taken as the “all time high” in levels of scheduled
mileage, patronage and operation of public bus services. The
1950 time-table, therefore, reflects well the services available
to the public in that post-war peak. For i3romyard, the Thursday
market day was also a strong weekly event in 1950 (the railway
still open right through from Worcester to Leominster, and the
post-war recovery of farming both contributing), and therefore
when the Thursday bus services are considered, it is certainly
here that the very highest degree of bus operation Bromyard has
known can be found.
Today, with much
higher levels of car-ownership and independence from the
scheduled bus services, the Thursday buses are few and far
between, and the market-day specials are gone. (It must, of
course, be noted that the 427 service still retains one Thursday
journey to Bromyard, and this is the last Thursday extra that
the Midland Red provide. Also, despite the Midland Red decline,
private local operators have taken over some Thursday journeys,
and these are still alive and flourishing - Morris’s running to
Ridgeway Cross; Silver Star running to Pencombe and Little
Cowarne; Corvedale running to Tenbury, this service being the
modern successor to the Critchleys / F. Yarranton route).
However, the
following tables show a fascinating difference, highlighting the
public transport decline of the past 27 years - and reflecting
the movement of the passenger away from the local buses. As
always, may I ask anyone who could loan me any timetables or
other material describing public transport in the Bromyard area,
to be kind enough to assist my researches.
Worcester Area
Timetable, 1950
Shown below are
departure time (Church Street), service number, ultimate
destination.
Thursdays only
0610:
420 to Hereford 0850: 455 to
Kidderminster
0750:
420, to Worcester 0855: 469 to
Hereford
0800:
420 to Hereford 0855: 420 to
Hereford
0850:
455 to Ledbury 0900: 422 to
Leominster
0935:
415 to Felton 1430: 427 to
Tedstone
0945:
427 to Clifton 1435: 371 to
Cradley
1010:
427 to Tedstone 1450: 415 to
Felton
1045:
422 to Docklow 1450: 420 to
Worcester
1050:
420 to Worcester 1505: 420 to
Hereford
1055:.420 to Hereford 1540: 420
to Hereford
1055:
415 to Ullingswick 1540: 373 to
Worcester
1115:
420 to Stoke Lacy 1545: 469 to
Hereford
1200:
427 to High House 1600: 427 to High
House
1215:
470 to Bishops Frome 1600: 420 to Hereford
1230:
371 to Ridgeway Cross 1615: 420 to Hereford
1230:
372 to Suckley 1650: 455 to
Ledbury
1250:
455 to Kidderminster 1650: 420 to
Worcester
1250:
420 to Hereford 1710: 420 to
Hereford
1300:
470 to Bishops Frome 1710: 422 to Docklow
1305:
422 to Leominster 1715: 469 to
Hereford
1305:
420 to Hereford 1810: 420 to
Hereford
1345:
422 to Docklow 1855: 420 to
Worcester
1350:
415 to Pencombe 2050: 420 to
Hereford
1415:
427 to Clifton 2150: 420 to
Hereford
TOTAL
48
Hereford &
Worcester Area Timetabic, 1977
Departure times
(Pump Street), Service Number, ultimate destination. Thursdays
only
0747: 420 to
Worcester 1430: 469 to
Hereford
0804: 420 to
Hereford 1439: 420 to
Hereford
0840: 420 to
Worcester 1500: 427 to High
House
0929: 420 to
Hereford 1518: 420 to
Worcester
1053: 420 to
Worcester 1653: 420 to
Worcester.
1108: 420 to
Hereford 1704: 420 to
Hereford
1239: 420 to
Hereford 1829: 420 to
Hereford
1253: 420 to
Worcester 1853: 420 to
Hereford
……………………………………………………………………………………………………………….
THE MILLS AT
ROWDEN AND THORNBURY Jennifer McCulloch
Rowden and
Thornbury are the only mills remaining in Plegeliate Hundred
which still retain their machinery. The gearing at Rowden was of
the traditional pattern of a pit wheel on the water-wheel shaft
driving a wallower on the lower end of the upright shaft, the
drive to the stones being through a great spur wheel and stone
nuts, and a power take-off for sack hoist and auxiliary
machinery from a crown wheel at the upper end of shaft. Mrs R.
Williams, the daughter of the last miller, Mr. S. Powell Tuck,
recalls that there used to be a wooden overshot wheel c.
1914-18. This was replaced by a turbine which remains. The drive
to the upright shaft is now via a pinion meshing with the great
spur wheel mounted on another upright shaft inside the mill.
This is turned by means of a belt from the turbine outside. At
Rowden, the octagonal upright shaft and the compass arm crown
wheel are of wood and the remainder of the machinery is iron.
This was a two pair mill, but originally there were probably
three pairs of millstones. One pair of stone bears the name
“Handley, Moor St., Birmingham.” This firm was in business
1850-90. The stone nuts were raised out of gear by rings and
screws, one of the more usual methods.
The house at Rowdon
is an early 17th-century timber-framed building with additions
of stone rubble. It appears that the lower part of the mill,
which is of stone, is of the same date as the house. The mill
roof seems to have been raised towards the end of the 17th
century or early in the 18th. There are three floors in the
mill.
As at Rowden, the
mill at Thornbury adjoins the house, but here, the house as well
as the mill is of stone. The mill has been built into the bank
of the mill pond so that access to the top floor of the mill for
unloading sacks is at cart level. There are three floors with an
unusual half floor for storage of grain. The machinery at
Thornbury is different and interesting. There is an iron
overshot wheel with an inscription on the rim: “BRAY HSR.”
Thomas Bray was in business in Hereford as a millwright and
engineer in 1862 (Morris’s Directory) and also in 1870 (Kelly).
Two other wheels made by Bray which I have come across, both
farm wheels, are at Home Farm, Dulas, and at the Leen, near
Pembridge, and both bear striking resemblance to the one at
Thornbury. The dimensions of this wheel, large diameter 18 foot,
narrow width 3 foot, are those often favoured when the water
supply is poor. There is a gear ring bolted to the (arms of the
water wheel, this engages with two small pinions on either side
which each take the drive independently to two pairs of stones
by horizontal shafts passing through the wall of the mill. On
the other end of these shafts are bevelled iron wheels with wood
cogs which mesh with “stone nuts. The power is taken to a
horizontal, wood lay shaft on the floor above, driving the
processing machinery via belt from pulley mounted on me of
horizontal shafts from the water wheel (see diagram). An oil
engine in an adjoining building could be made to drive one pair
of stones through horizontal shaft and bevel gearing when water
was short. There were two pairs of stones, disconnected by an
unusual way of chains wound
up by roller and
fixed by ratchet. There is a bolter and an unusual primitive
winnower which appear-s to have blown the chaff out through a
hole in the wall.
Thornbury Mill was
often run together with Butterley, the next mill down stream. In
1835 William Amiss was miller at both Thornbury and Butterley (Pigot’s
Directory). In 1870 Thornbury and Butterley were again run
together by Joseph Moore (Kelly’s Directory).
Mr. Carter, the son
of the last miller but one, recalled how the mill pound was full
of trout at one time. As happened at so many mills,’ there used
to be frequent flooding of the surrounding fields.
When his father was
miller the corn was fetched from Messrs. J.W. Williams, grocer,
and Mason’s the baker, with their own horses and wagons, and
they returned the finished product the following day. Grinding
was always done in the evening so that the pool, which could be
drained by two hours milling, would fill up during the night and
following day. There was not enough power to use both stones at
once. The corn would be unloaded at the ground floor, weighed,
then hoisted to the bin floor. It would pass down hoppers to the
stones, one for flour and one for animal feed. The meal for
livestock would be weighed, then hoisted to the bin floor from
where it would be unloaded onto the wagon from the top door at
the side. The wholemeal for flour would be hoisted to the bin
floor and would pass down another hopper to the dresser. Silks
for this machine were made at Bristol rind were very expensive.
Every night the silk would be carefully removed to prevent
damage by rats. The silk was graded in three different meshes.
Underneath were four hoppers for flour, sharps, bran, then
coarse bran or hulls. They passed to the ground floor and were
then weighed and hoisted to the bin floor, and loaded onto
wagons through the top door. Sometimes when the stones were
getting worn, the flour had to be ground twice. (This must have
necessitated being hoisted to the top of the mill four times)
The miller could tell by the feel of the meal whether the stones
needed dressing. When worn, the flour felt damp and claggy.
Wooden cogs were
apparently a great trial to the Carters. Mr. Carter could not
imagine why they were used for meshing with iron. Apparently if
one cog was slightly out, the iron gear would strip all the
wooden cogs off in one rotation, and they were always
re-cogging wheels.
The Carters dressed
their own stones. The peak stones for animal food were dressed
approximately once. a year. Mr. Frances of Bishops Frome was
the only blacksmith who could put an edge on mill pecks or
bills.
A local farmer
Mr.J.S.Sinnet recalls how his father used to take corn to be
ground at Thornbury. Payment in kind was still the order of the
day. Thornbury Mill ceased grinding 1919.
My thanks are due
to Mr. and Mrs. Pitt of Thornbury Mill, and to Mr. Ward, Steps
Cottage, Suckley, the owner of Rowden Mill, for allowing me to
inspect their properties and to Mr. Carter, School House,
Thornbury, for valuable information.
…………………………………………………………………………………………………………..
THE
ROMANO-BRITISH GRAVE AT THE WELLS
Deborah Waller .
The discovery of
the remains of the Romano-British grave at the Wells, Winslow,,
(mentioned in chapter one of “Bromyard: A Local History”), has
been described in a letter to me by the late Mrs. Molly
King-King, a member of the Heygate family who owned the Property
at the time. Mrs. King-King wrote:
“It was found in a
most unlikely place, under 3 or 4ft of solid clay on the side of
a bank, no sort of mound or barrow or even the top of a hill but
beside a ditch, the overflow from the top farmyard pond which
ran through the garden to the two lower ponds and Mother was
making a large rock garden with large scree and rocky bluff and
pools and a water garden. I always imagine that the whole thing
was intact, a burial urn containing bones and possibly food
vessels, but was smashed by the beefy varlets who were digging
out the clay to make the .rockery. So little interest, was taken
in, those days that no further excavations were attempted and
the whole thing was planted up. We never found any flints, but
then no one was sufficiently interested to search. One
interesting point, the site was about 6 yards away from the
mouth of a deep unfailing very cold spring.”
Mrs King-King said
that some of the pottery had been presented to the Hereford
Museum.
Having read this
letter and spoken to Mrs. King-King, Dr. S.C. Stanford wrote to
me and there seems no doubt that it is a Romano-British grave
which means there is no particular likelihood of finding any
associated structures in the vicinity Nevertheless it (the
letter) is valuable to have as a record.”
…………………………………………………………………………………………………………….
LITTLE COWARNE
Jean Hopkinson
Two years ago in
order to illustrate some of the work of the Study Group, Mrs
Carey gave us an outline of Stoke Lacy at the time of the 1840
Tithe map This is an attempt to trace very briefly the growth
and pattern of settlement in Little Cowarne, one of the smallest
parishes in our survey of the Bromyard district, using some of
the other sources of material available to the Study Group. It
lies just north/west of Stoke Lacy on the Hereford/Bromyard
road, it covers 693 acres and is less than 2 miles by 1.5 mile.
To a surprising degree the boundaries of the parish are physical
features, streams, ridges of high ground and only short
stretches of hedge.
Now to some of our
other sources. The best and earliest source we have to show
where the ancient Britain’s passed by, if not lived, is no
ancient document but Mrs. Waller! In Little Cowarne she has
found flints on Shortwood Farm fields and by Upper House.
Next, an extension
of, the Newent / Stretton Grandison Roman road northwards in a
straight line from Stretton Grandison passes exactly through
Much Cowarne church, along the south-western boundary of Little
Cowarne parish and through Little Cowarne church, at the bridle
path to the top road and down to Pencombe It is certainly marked
on the City Museum map as a probable Roman road as far as
Crossways in Stoke Lacy and it seems likely it continued on
through Little Cowarne; thus it is ‘reasonable to assume that
the Romans used the track perhaps on their way to Risbury.
Then come the, dark
ages; but someone travelling up this track must have noticed a
sheltered valley at about the 450 ft contour, out of sight of
marauding Welsh bands, and with reliable springs. For by 1066
and the Norman invasion, the three hides of Little Cowarne were
part of Plegeliate Hundred and were held by a Saxon called
Spirites; it was worth £2.10.O. By 1086 and Domesday it had
passed to one Nigel the Physician, a Norman, and possibly due to
the troubled times and the activities of Cedric the Wild was now
worth only £2. Nigel had the use of three ploughs on his demesne
land whereas the one freeman, seven serfs and four bordars had
only ‘one plough between them. These twelve households would not
have had to travel far for their salt as Ullingswick had a
surface salt pan. Apparently there was as yet no mill on the
river, although there was one at Stoke Lacy.
At some time in the
12th century there was a reorganization of the Saxon hundreds
into larger units. Plegeliate, of which Little Cowarne was part,
was joined to Tornelaus and together with a few parishes from
adjacent hundreds, they became the Hundred of Brokesash, with
the Hundred meeting point here in Little Cowarne, probably at
the crossroads by Broxash Wood. At first sight it seems strange
that such an insignificant place should have been chosen, but
the new meeting point was exactly on the boundary where the two
old hundreds met and surprisingly equidistant from Upper Sapey
in the north and Sutton St. Nicholas to the south. There is a
reminder of it to this day with Hundred Bank Cottage and Hundred
Bank field.
Unlike Stoke Lacy,
Little Cowarne is a recognised deserted medieval village, which
means that what had been a thriving community in the 12th and
13th centuries declined, perhaps owing to the plague. Certainly
in 1517 a witness gave evidence before Wolsey’s Commissioners on
rural depopulation that “In Little Cowarne there are not more
than four people. dwelling ...“ (this probably meant four
families) and then he went on “Sometime within the last 20 years
Richard Hulles lived there with his wife and family and worked
with six oxen yoked to one plough.
Now where is this
medieval community likely to have grown up? If in fact the
south-western boundary track was an important road then that
would account f or the positioning of the church on it rather to
the west of the parish, whereas if the village has a heart now I
feel it is more centred on the Three Horse Shoes. According to
the Royal Commission on Historical Monuments the earliest work
in the church that remains is the base of the north wall of the
chancel dating from the 12th century: then in the 13th century,
presumably in a period of prosperity, the whole of the rest of
the ‘church was rebuilt. Certainly by 1276, when we have the
earliest documentary reference to the church, the population
must have increased sufficiently to maintain its own rector,
which it managed to do until in 1478 when, according to Bishop
Mylling’s Register, “the church of Little Cowarne is united to
that of Ullingswick, as its revenues are insufficient to support
a priest”.
I suspect that the
rest of the settlement grew up round the church as immediately
to the west lie fourteen acres of the flattest land in the
parish, bordered on one side by a stream, and during excavations
for a hop-yard in the 1930s the foundations of a substantial
building were uncovered. The pound and pound field, are near
the church on the bridle path to Pencombe, further along which
lies a field known as Townsend Croft, suggesting that was the
limit of settlement.
At the same time,
on his map of “South Wales and the Border in the Fourteenth
Century, Prof. W. Rees has marked a “minor fortification or
manor house” between Meadowcourt in the north-east of the
parish and the river Lodon, of which there is no trace now. I
am following this up and hoping to track down the source of
Prof. Rees’s information.
Thus, there was a
centre of occupation near the church, with a possible minor
fortification near Meadowcourt, which gradually declined to
four families in 1517. However from then on the population began
to creep up again. Then the east end of Meadowcourt was built.
The church registers started in 1563 and although monopolised by
the Mason and Bowley families for the first eight years,
gradua1ly more names appeared. About 1600 the White House and
the Court were built. In1618 Bowleys were still living in the
village at the Wells, and John Hill first appears in the church
registers as a churchwarden; by 1637 he is signing himself as
”John Hill of Meadowcourt”, obviously very proud of his
recently enlarged residence. The Hearth Tax of 1671 records ten
taxpayers with four exemptions, making fourteen households for
that year. By 1691 Edward Abel was one of the churchwardens. An
Edward Abell is a church warden today, in 1977. Surely a nearly
unique record.
Why did not
building take place around the church again? I really don’t
know. Presumably by the beginning of the 16th century much of
the land would have reverted to waste. However there appears to
have been a revival of the open field system of cultivation,
whether on the medieval pattern of field boundaries it is
impossible to tell. Clues to open fields appear in the three
Tithe Map field names of “Broadfield” and these are borne out by
the various strip fields which still existed at the time of the
Tithe Map. In addition a trust of 1844 refers to “All that piece
or parcel of arable land formerly called the four acres situate
in a certain common field called Mill Field but some years since
enclosed therefrom ...” and a conveyance of 1856 mentions a
field in Cocke Crow Common Field. So I get a picture of open
fields until about the end of the 17th or mid-1&th century;
there were no Enclosure acts for this part of the country so it
must hive been a gradual process of consolidation by exchange
and buying and selling.
By 1777 twentyfour
families were being charged Land Tax and at the first Census
carried out in 18O1 a reliable population figure of 111 is at
last available. By 1841 the population had risen to 187, with 48
houses in the parish, five of which were empty; since when only
2 houses have been built on new sites.
Little Cowarne
reached a peak of population in 1871 with 213, but ever since it
has steadily declined to a low in 1974 of 92. I am glad to say
that that trend has been reversed with some new arrivals, the
modernisation of 2 derelict houses and the rebuilding of a
third, so by the end of 1977 we should be back to well over 100.
…………………………………………………………………………………………………………….
PENCOMBE 1870
FROM THE PARISH MAGAZINE
H.B.J. Evans
In January 1870 the
Rector of Pencombe, the Rev. George Arkwright, introduced a
monthly parish magazine to inform, as he said, the people of
Pencombe to keep abreast of the leading topics of the day, and
keep parishioners who lived at a distance from the church
informed of special services or sermons. The cost was 2d a
month, and the magazine ran to some twenty-four or twenty-five
pages.
Study of the first
year’s numbers gives a picture of Pencombe life in mid-Victorian
times. Naturally much of the contents is concerned only with
church matters, but secular life is also mentioned.
The school, which
can be regarded as a combination of both, was ‘reported to have
79 children in the large school and 48 infants, in the January
issue.
Secularism was
given space in February with the report of the formation of the
Pencombe branch of the Hampton Friendly Society. Apparently many
of the labouring classes were anxious to join a benefit club,
and Mr. Yates, the hon. secretary of the Hampton Friendly
Society (established for twenty-five years), attended two
meetings in Pencombe to explain the rules and benefits. It was
hoped that inhabitants of Little Cowarne, Winslow, Stoke Lacy
and Grendon would join those in Pencombe to form the Pencombe
Benefit Club. This met with so little encouragement that
Pencombe decided to join the Hampton Society. So on Thursday,
6th January, at a meeting in the school room, Thomas Went was
enrolled as the first member of the Pencombe Branch. Four other
men were also enrolled, and three more, who were absent from the
meeting, signed agreements. The modest subscription did not
cover a visit from the doctor, and there follows an earnest plea
for the farmers to become honorary members at 10/- or even 5/- a
year and show goodwill to their labourers. (It does not say with
what result). ‘
But a month
previously some of the farmers had shown generosity for with
others of like mind on New Year’s Eve, 1869, they gave 270 lbs
of beef to some 60 families of cottagers in the, parish. In the
evening in spite of the rain and fog, a great number assembled
.at the Rectory (now Pencombe Hall) to witness a few fireworks.
A large fire balloon which ascended to a great height concluded
the evening’s entertainment.
On Easter Sunday
there were 91 communicants at the two celebrations. The
offerings, which amounted to six pounds and seven-pence, were
presented to the people of Little Cowarne for the restoration of
their church. This must have been very ruinous as it states that
“It fell into decay, green mould appeared and cobwebs and broken
glass, the stone font was daubed with whitewash, the altar
tumbled to pieces and coverings moth-eaten”.
Mention is made
that about 1866 the church clock was ordered from Mr. Joyce of
Whitchurch at a cost of £80. The Squire gave £5, three farmers
£1 each, and one or two labourers a shilling each. The Rector
had to give the rest.
In June it was
decided that a peal of bells was required. Six good bells would
cost £300 and it was resolved to elect a committee of three, say
two farmers and the Rector “who shall open a fund to which
everyone in the’ village shall contribute until the money is
got. The Rector intends to sell plants towards the fund”.
One of the leading
topics of the day with which the Rector wanted parishioners to
keep abreast impinged on Pencombe in August when a collection
was made for the relief of the sick and wounded in the
Franco-Prussian war. This amounted to £5.17.3., but the Rector
pointed out that £4.10.0. was given by strangers, leaving
£1.7.3. to represent 78 families living in the parish. In
October the Harvest Festival collection of £6.17.4. was also
given to the sick and wounded.
The Harvest
Festival was held on 6th 0ctober in the afternoon and the church
was full with many standing in the porch and outside. Afterwards
everyone went to Mr. Goode’s meadow at the Court Farm where a
large tent had been erected, and tea and cake was provided free,
except to visitors, who were charged a shilling each. I: was
estimated that 600 availed themselves of the tent. Races
followed, and there was a leg of mutton on top of a greasy pole.
……………………………………………………………………………………………………………..
EARLY MOTORS IN
BROMYARD Martin J Perry
The later years of
the 1890s brought the first signs of the motor age to the town
and district of Bromyad. References in the Bromyard newspapers
at or about the turn of the century cast amusing comments on,
the novelty and the local excitement of the new machines.
Despite motor-cars being regarded with “awe and suspicion”, they
were here to stay. -‘
The exact dates,
of, acquisition and ownership of the first motors in Bromyard
are hard to define (although, missing little, the Bromyard
newspapers keep us informed of developments). The arrival of the
Act in 1903 that required all motor vehicles to register with
local authorities however meant that details of makes, types,
Owners, and even colours were to be accurately recorded - and
from this information, that survives today, much can be learnt
of the earliest years of motoring.
The 1903 Act meant
that all existing vehicles (motor cycles, tricycles, cars and
“heavy motor cars” — goods vehicles, steam traffic etc.) were
to register at their local (county or borough) licensing office.
All new vehicles subsequent to January 1st, 1904, were
automatically to be registered and all were to receive an
identification mark, their registration number. The Hereford
County office was a1located “CJ”, and first opened its doors on
January 1st 1904. (Note that “VJ” was not issued until July
1927, it taking 23 years to go from CJ I to CJ 9999). ‘ . .
Fortunately,
despite the pressures on office space that have caused much
valuable registration material to be destroyed over the years,
Herefordshire (and latterly Hereford & Worcester) have retained
their earliest record books, and I was recently given the
invitation to examine these at the Hereford offices. The
following list (which seems the most sensible way to present the
information), details the first cars registered by owners in and
around Bromyard.
First column:
Herefordshire registration mark. Second column: Vehicle make,
type.
Third column:
Registered owner. Fourth column: Date registered. Fifth column:
Other details.
CJ 22 l0hp
Lanchester H.G. Morgan, 1/1/1904 Tonneau
Stoke Lacy Rectory Green/ Red lining
CJ 27 8hp Eagle
tandem H.F.S. Morgan, 1/1/1904 Dark Green: -
Stoke Lacy Rectory
CJ 75 l2hp
Darracq A.E. Pettifer, 3/2/1904 Dark
Green
Bromyard
CJ 97 8hp Bardow
(?) car - H. Graystone, Hay 7/4/1904 Blue/yellow lines
Jas. Fryer,
Kington
*E. Williams,
Bromyard (*acquired 13/5/1906)
**E.L. Cave, Bromyard (*
*acquired 16/5/1908)
CJ 103 10/l2hp
Argyll T.H. Gilliam, 9/4/1904 Green/red
lining
Bromyard
CJ 139 ??
motorcycle Wm. Harwood, 21/7/1904
Whitbourne
CJ 160 ?? motor-
tricycle E. Lashford Cave, 4/10/1904
Bromyard
CJ 179 6hp
Wolseley. Fredk. Knight Essell 11/02/1905
Red
Birchyfield
Bromyard.
CJ 205 Singer
Motorcycle Jas. King Lewis, 3/05/1905
Nunwell House,
Bromyard.
CJ 223 6hp Vulcan
dogcart Philip King Lewis, 7/07/1905 Blue
Nunwell House,
Bromyard.
CJ 237 3 hp Durkopp
Chas. H. Twells, 18/09/1905 “For professional
use”
1-cylinder car Nunwell House,
Bromyard.
CJ 255 6hp Rover
Julian Alleyne Baker 27/01/1906
light phaeton
(2 seater)
CJ 256 l2hp
Lanchester Henry J. Barneby, 27/01/1906 Green
Rowden House.
CJ 275 l2hp
Wolseley A.E. Pettifer, 2/03/1906
Yellow, and black tonneau*
Bromyard
(* later converted
to a Royal Mail van)
On 23/3/06, A.E.
Pettifer also re-registered CJ 75 as a Royal Mail van, red &
black with yellow wheels.
CJ 305 3bhp
Quadrant Thos. Jessop 9/07/1906
motorcycle Edwin Ralph Rectory
CJ 309 lOhp
Darracq Sir Richard Harrington 14/07/1906 Red
Whitbourne Court
CJ 310 3.5hp
Quadrant C.J. Edmund Williams 14/07/1906
motor-cycle 42, High Street,
Bromyard.
CJ 313 3.5hp
Centaur E.J. Smith, 21/07/1906
motorcycle Bank House,
Bromyard*
(*this passed to
H.Johnson, Hop Pole Hotel 24/03/1908
CJ 328 16/20
Minerva A.E. Pettifer, 12/9/06’ “Natural
wood”
Car Bromyard
(originally a
tonneau, brougham body, this was later converted into a Mail
Van)
C 333 6hp Rover
E.A.A. Beck, 26/09/1906
special” 2
seater Bromyard
CJ 339 l0hp Alldays
Rear-Adml. .J.A. Baker, 25/10/06 Blue
& Onions
Rowden House
CJ 361 16hp
Wolseley A.E. Pettifer 16/02/1907
Yellow / Black
CJ 401 Wolseley
T.J.Foulkes, 17/05/1907
2-seater Bromyard.
CJ 406 5hp twin Rex
C.H. Twells, 27/05/1907
Motorcycle Nunwell House,
Bromyard.
CJ 412 4.5hp twin
Rex E.J, Smith, 14/06/1907
Bank House,
Bromyard.
CJ 416 3.5hp
Griffoni T.L.Brain 25/06/1907
Motorcycle Keep Hill
Bromyard.
Study of these
early records is providing more useful detail of the early
motors in Bromyard and in particular of the cars and mail-carts
used by A.E. Pettifer.
…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
WHO WAS POLLY
PLANKET? Joan Leese
Recently among the
odd bits of paper on which I scribble memoranda to myself, only
to completely forget them, I found one bearing these words:
Polly Planket,
Gravedigger,
1st half
19th century?
The combination of
such a name and such an occupation in a time when female
occupations were so restricted is too intriguing to ignore.
“Enter Polly Planket in her best dimity…. bearing a spade with
which she strikes the First Body-Snatcher.. ..” The
possibilities are endless - a big angular woman clumping along
the Schallenge in hobnail boots, or a small tidy body with a
number of sturdy little sons to do the work for her, or a
headstrong girl too proud to be kept by the parish…..? But can
anyone offer some facts.
……………………………………………………………………………………………………………
Wolferlow
Daphne Davies
This small parish
lies discreetly at the north-eastern perimeter of the Hundred
and abuts the shire boundary. Shaped rather like a sock or
wellington boot its toe reaches into Collington, the heel is at
High Lane on the Stourport road adjacent to Tedstone Wafre, and
the leg is surrounded by Stoke Bliss, Hanley Childe and Upper
Sapey. Its 1500 acres are mostly on high ground up to 700 ft
above sea level.
We hope to visit
this interesting parish in April when we meet at St. Andrew’s
Church. Earthworks are recorded in the vicinity of the church
and can be clearly seen. In an adjacent field is probably the
site of a deserted medieval village and in one corner is the
village pound, with the Butts Field opposite. Wolferlow Court is
a fine half-timbered house extended in the 17th century and the
settlement appears to extend from the Court to Upper House
across fields called Palmers Close, the Batches and Goose Green.
Upper House has different stages of building spanning several
hundred years; one especially fine feature is a six- panelled
door with a decorative frieze at the top stated to be 17th
century. One field name is a puzzle, it is “Piece and Griffin”;
a theory put forward is that it may have belonged to a man
called Rhys ap Griffith~ Has anyone any other ideas?
From Upper House
towards Collington, down a steep drop along the old parish road
now barely visible, lie the Underleys. Underley House was built
of red brick in the early 19th century by a Bristol man of means
called “Where”. The estate road runs north past the site of
Middle Underley to Upper Underley and its large pond through
which runs the parish boundary. This house is recorded by the
Royal Commission on Historic Monuments as dating from medieval
times. It was probably a single storey hall divided in the 16th
century when the kitchen wing was added. It was largely rebuilt
in the 18th century.
Climbing the ridge
by the road passing Stoke Bliss church one may reach Wolferlow
Park. This former deer park of almost 100 acres was surrounded
by a stone wall. Duncumb records deer belonging to Sir Edward
Winnington being in the, park at the beginning of the 19th
century. The Park Farm built off brick shows at least two stages
of building. William and Susanna Cooper’s family lived here at
least from 1840 until 1870 and at one time he had eleven
children at home. Churchwarden at St. Andrew’s in 1851 he would
have travelled by the old roads past Poswick to reach the
church. Now woodland divides the two farms. Poswick derives its
name from Possa’s an Anglo-Saxon dairy farm. The present house
built in the last century stands adjacent to a much older site
which has signs of early settlement. To the west of Poswick is
Cockshut Coppice. Dr Gelling has explained that cockshut was a
means of catching woodcock with a net and heaters.
Nearby is the Heath
Farm, a fine stone built farmhouse and buildings apparently all
of one build perhaps at the turn of the 18th century. Much
detail and care of thought is obvious in the style of the sills
and nest unusual feature is two ricks on stools and each stool
topped by an iron. Samuel Drew lived here in 1840 but he also
farmed Forty Acres. In 1851, aged 73, he was living at Forty
Acres, near the vicarage beyond the church, with his six-year
old grandson.
The Vicarage was
built in the mid-l9th century possibly when the church largely
rebuilt. Kempson, the architect, retained two Norman doorways
and the chancel arch, and many of the old memorial tablets still
adorn the walls. Beneath the tower the huge timbers are exposed
and near the altar stone effigy lies a lady in a wimple. Her
gown falls in graceful pleats her slippers which rest on a small
dog. Her style of dress is said by Pevsner to be “still in the
12th century and earlier 13th century tradition”. At this time
the manor was held by the Prioress and convent of Aconbury.
Prioress, Joan of Ledbury, during the reign of Richard II,
granted a lease to Walter Cruyk of Wolferlow. Later the manor
was held by the Packington’s who sold to the Salwey’s in 1591.
The Winnington’s inherited through a Salway heiress and the
Winnington Ingrams were connected with the Parish into this
century.
There are few
cottages in the parish. A settlement along High Lane seems to be
built upon the roadside wastes and was no doubt maintained
because of its proximity to the school, shop, inn and chapel,
serving Upper Sapey and Tedstone Wafre. In 1851 there were eight
cottages in this group including one in which lived Thomas
Dallow, a carpenter employing two men and a wagoner.
This account of the
Parish of Wolferlow is merely a little dip into past, a taste of
its history. Detailed study continues especially regarding the
people who lived on the land. It was given its name by the
Mercian Royal family, the family of King Offa, as Wolfhaeda’s
Low.
…………………………………………………………………………….
