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The Redlynch Review
The Redlynch and District
Local History Society
August 1999 Volume 3
Published by
The Redlynch & District Local History Society
All rights reserved.
No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by
any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior permission of the
publisher.
This is a revised and updated edition of The Redlynch Review published in August 1999.
Copyright © 2018. The Redlynch & District Local History Society
Front cover picture Woodfalls Post Office (late 1930s)
Contents
Chairman’s Report .................................................................................................................................. 1
Ambrose Shelley of Redlinch .................................................................................................................. 2
Canadian Letter ....................................................................................................................................... 4
Salisbury in the age of Cholera ............................................................................................................... 6
Notes on the Wiltshire Dialect ................................................................................................................ 8
Strange Goings on at Toad’s Flat… ........................................................................................................ 10
An Account of the Railway Accident at North Charford on 3 June 1884 .............................................. 11
From the Archives... .............................................................................................................................. 11
Entertainment in the Twenties and Thirties ......................................................................................... 12
Nomansland and How It Became Part of Redlynch .............................................................................. 14
Early Days of Scouting ........................................................................................................................... 17
The Poor of Downton Parish 1800 to 1835 ........................................................................................... 20
1
Chairman’s Report
It is hard to believe that a year has gone by since I wrote the report for Volume 2 of our Redlynch
Review. Time seems to go so quickly and, in spite of all our modern conveniences, there never seems
enough hours in the day to accomplish all that is hoped for. This year, a small group has been working
very hard on our book for the Millennium (see more details in the Journal) and it is progressing well.
We hope to publish it by 1 November. I must thank this group for their commitment because it has
turned out to be a bigger task than we thought and there have been moments when I have wished
that I had never thought of the idea! However, I am sure that it has been worth all the hard work and
that it will be a useful document both now and in, say, one hundred years time.
Work on the churchyard memorials has not been forgotten but has been in abeyance during this spate
of wet winters. We need fine, dry weather when the foliage has died down to be able to tackle it.
I have recently gone 'on line' and am finding it a fascinating experience. At the moment I am receiving
copies of the Downton Parish Registers by E-mail (at the rate of one a day) and, when these are all
printed out, I am sure that they will be a useful source for those of you who are interested in family
history. We have permission to copy the Redlynch Registers which are held at the County Record
Office in Trowbridge and eventually, a copy of these will be available for consultation in the village.
Attendance at our meetings has remained high with membership again around the 80 mark. Speakers
have included Mrs Pamela Slocombe on Wiltshire Buildings, Mrs M Fay talking about Family History
and Roy Spring on Diaries and Keepers of Journals. Andrew Deathe from Salisbury Museum kept us
entertained with a talk which emphasized that, although few artefacts from past ages had been found
in Redlynch, the village has had a long history interlinked with that of the neighbouring settlements.
Rosalind Passmore used the 185l census as a basis for her talk on Village Trades and illustrated talks
about Fordingbridge by Gerard Ponting and Redlynch by Robert Newman, helped by Stan Crouch,
were an outstanding success.
The year finished with a tour of the Cathedral Close, accompanied by Kathy Quinn who enthralled us
with her mixture of history and gossip about past and present residents and their houses.
We have an interesting programme planned for next year and have already booked Phil Harding of
Time Team for our meeting in November 2000! Our Annual General Meeting will take place in October
and, again we need your help in the running of the Society. Please think about taking a more active
part.
Finally, I must thank the committee for their work throughout the year and those who have
contributed to this magazine in any way. Will Waite has again given his time and expertise to produce
this Journal and special thanks go to him.
Our next meeting is on Tuesday, 7 September.
Pat Millington August 1999
2
Ambrose Shelley of Redlinch
In the name of God Amen I Ambrose Shelley of Redlinch in the parish of Downton in the County
of Wilts Broom maker...
This is the beginning of the 1822 Will of my husband's great, great, great grandfather, a copy of which
we obtained from Wiltshire County Record Office at Trowbridge.
The Will goes on...
First I give and bequeath unto my son James Shelley all that my dwelling house garden orchard
premises and appurtenances which I now live in situate at Redlinch to have and to hold the said
messuage garden orchard and pig sty opposite the dwelling house and piece of land strait from
the corner of Mussellwhites allotment to Joseph Higg’s plot.
Secondly...
Thirdly I give and bequeath unto my son William Shelley all the house garden orchard and
premises and the common land at the back side of the house that he liveth in in Trunk Bottem
and also that piece of land 1 acre and a quarter joining to Wm. Nicholas’s called Old Backs.
Fourthly I give and bequeath unto my son Stephen Shelley all that cottage or dwelling house
called Roppell Pit with the land back and front adjoining it and Knob Crook Meadow and its
allotment to it.
Fifthly...
Sixthly I give and bequeath unto my grand daughter Sarah the wife of Andrew Light all that
cottage and land belonging to it called Robert Farmers unless that being disposed of and then
Joseph Higg’s in Trunk Bottem.
And also I give unto my son Stephen Shelley the sittings which he sitteth in the Church and also
I give unto my grandson William Shelley his grandmother’s sitting in the church and also I give
unto my grand daughter Sarah the wife of Andrew Light the sitting which she sitteth in in the
Church
I also give and bequeath all my broom stock in trade and all the farming crop on the land and
also all the other land of allotment if any should be allotted to be equally divided between my
four sons James George William and Stephen Shelley, the house and land at Nomansland to be
sold and either Josephs Higgs or Roberts Farmers
The mark of Ambrose Shelley
Witnesses William Reeves, Rachel Shelley, Leah Musselwhite
3
On a visit to the Salisbury Local History Library last year, it was suggested I got in touch with the
Redlynch Local History Society and as a result I was provided with some interesting information, for
which we are most grateful. Furthermore, we were put in touch with the owners of two Redlynch
properties who generously posted us copies of documents relating to their properties which included
the names of Ambrose and James Shelley.
We also acquired copies of the Redlynch Review for July 1997 and July 1998 and were particularly
interested in the article Besom Making in Redlynch, Ambrose being a broom maker. Ambrose Shelley
married Sarah Sheryer in 1768 and one of their sons William married Hannah Mussell In 1806. They
also had a son, William, who moved to Surrey and is shown on the 1841 Census in Croydon. He later
married and one of his twin daughter, Mary became my husband‘s grandmother.
We would be delighted to hear from anyone who has any Shelleys mentioned in their house deeds
and would, of course, refund postage and photo-copying costs.
Another Shelley connection occurs in that James Shelley cast a bell for Downton Parish Church. He is
shown on the 1841 Census as an Ironfounder. As yet we have been unable to tie him to the family of
Ambrose Shelley. Could there be a connection to Foundry Farm, Redlynch. I wonder?
Mr & Mrs David Shelley, Ashby, Woodlands, Llandough Hill, Penarth, South Glamorgan. CF64 2NA
Programme for 1999/2000
7 September 1999 Cranbome Chase by Penny May
5 October 1999 AGM followed by ‘The History of Roads and Road Travel’ by John
Chandler
2 November 1999 Scouting in the Thirties and ... Stan Crouch et at?
7 December 1999 Christmas Folk Carols by Steve Jordan
4 January 2000 tba
1 February 2000 The City Walk by Miss Kathy Quinn
7 March 2000 Recent Discoveries at Clarendon by Dr Tom James
4 April 2000 tba
2 May 2000 Tombstones & Epitaphs by Mrs Sybil Amor
6 June 2000 tba
4
Canadian Letter
My name is Colin Cooper and until I was twelve years old I lived on Vale Road. Our home was the old
bungalow with the red roof and black wooden sides and when I came back in May 1998, I was surprised
to see that it was still being lived in.
The road has changed a lot since we left and the sawmills have gone. The lawns in front of the house
on the left seemed much shorter than I remembered and then I realized that now a pavement has
been constructed.
Mr & Mrs Hatch lived across the road, Mr W Green next door and our house was the last one on that
side. An empty field was next; now I see houses right down the road. All the memories came flooding
back as I stood looking around me.
When we lived in the bungalow, it had a well and an outhouse (privy) in the backyard. Boy, do I
remember the cold and wet nights although, of course, we had a pot if it was too late! The back
garden went all the way to the saw mills. We all played in and around them; jumping off the stacked
trees into the pile of sawdust or riding on a big table saw which cut the trees lengthwise. We would
ride back and forth until the blade got too low and we were told to get off. My brother and I would
climb on the roof of the house and slide down it. We could not understand why Mum and Dad always
knew; the red paint gave us away. There is another memory to remind you of that age: the big, old
copper in the kitchen which boiled water for clothes and also heated the water on bath night. I
remember that smell to this day.
My parents are Mr and Mrs Bert Cooper. Before they met, Dad lived on Sandy Lane in Redlynch with
his mother and older brother. Bill, their father had died in 1922 and a sister died in about 1932. After
his father’s death, Bert went to work on the farm that had employed his father, joining his brother Bill
who was already there. Their mother was also given a job there and they stayed on in the house on
Sandy Lane.
Mum and Dad were married in June 1937. My brother Michael was born in October 1938 and I came
along in January 1940. We lived in the bungalow on Vale Road from 1939 until 1952.
Dad was away for five years during the War and we only saw him about five times during that time.
After the War, he worked for Mr Hickman delivering animal feed. At some point during 1948, Dad
went to work at Wellworthy’s where they made piston rings. In the meantime, Mum was working as
a housekeeper in Salisbury. I remember she worked for a man who helped to design the Comet, the
first jet to carry passengers. He lost his life when one of them crashed. I went to work with my mother
until I joined my brother at St Osmund’s School where we were together until he was 12 years old.
Then he went to St. Mary‘s School in Southampton and then on to the Royal Hospital School which
was a training school for the Royal Navy. He joined the Navy when he was 18 and I stayed at St
Osmund‘s until I was 15 years old.
During this time, my mother was elected to the local Parish Council. By now, Dad was working at the
Moot Lane brick yard which was owned by Mr Joe Mitchell who also had a sawmill at the top of Lode
5
Hill. In I998, I was surprised to see that the brickyard had been sold to New Forest Brick Company and
that it had been closed for some time.
During my visit, I met lots of people who knew Mum and Dad and some, like Mr & Mrs Snelgrove who
now live in Fordingbridge, had worked with Dad at Templeman Farm. When I stayed at the farm (now
a Bed and Breakfast establishment run by Peter and June Dabell) I had the room that had been Mrs
Snelgrove’s when she worked there. Mr Donald Egremont ran the farm in those days and I also met
his son, another Donald Egremont, who took over from his father.
Other people who knew my parents were Richard Elkins who worked at the brickyard and is now
Churchwarden at St. Mary's, Fred Compton, Mr Emms, Mr S. Beck, Mr W. Newman, Stephen Dolman,
Mr Moody, G. Mullet, Gordon Witcomb and the head shepherd at the farm, H. Greenstop. I met Mr
F. Willes in the Kings Head a most interesting gentleman who had lived in the same house all his life.
Mr & Mrs Geoff Donaldson now live in Peg Top Cottage which was Dad‘s home. It stood empty for a
while after his mother died and, of course, it has changed a lot since then. The two weeks I spent in
Downton and Woodfalls were just great and I have many fond memories of my trip. My thanks go to
the Cooper family in Downton for their help in finding other family members and to Mr & Mrs Blake
at the old school house in Downton for their hospitality and the book about Downton called
Reflections which Dad thought was marvellous.
When we went to Canada in 1957, we landed in Quebec City, and then took an eighteen hour, non-
stop train journey to Toronto, arriving at about 8am on a Sunday morning. A group of people who
had come to meet one family, didn’t know that the train was full of immigrants but, with their help,
we all found hotels where we stayed for three days.
By then, Mother and I had found jobs and took a furnished flat. Dad found a job after about six weeks
and then we were able to take an apartment, or unfurnished flat, and with new furniture and new
jobs we started our new way of life.
Mum and Dad are still living. Mum will be 88 in June 1999 and is in a nursing home suffering from
Alzheimer’s disease. Dad, now 92, remains in good health.
After 42 years in Canada, I went back to Woodfalls and Downton to find that, like everywhere else,
things do not stay the same. I enjoyed my time there and hope to stay in touch through the Redlynch
Review which I found most interesting.
Colin Cooper, 14 Mason Road, Scarborough, Ontario. Canada. MIM 3P8
6
Salisbury in the age of Cholera
At our January meeting we welcomed Mrs Ruth Newman, a history teacher, who is also Chairman of
Wiltshire Local History Forum. Her subject, ‘Salisbury in the Age of Cholera’, may sound morbid, but
was most interesting and enlightening.
The cholera epidemic in Salisbury started in 1849, although there had been earlier cases in England in
the 1830s. It broke out in Vidler's Yard where living conditions were appalling. Eight houses shared
one water pump and a double privy! One house even had a pig sty standing immediately below the
back window. The floors of the houses were two feet below the surface of the court which was not
drained. There were many similar areas in Salisbury; Scot’s Lane was a particularly unhealthy street
and here the cholera outbreak claimed 17 lives.
The disease, which was of Asiatic origin, spread rapidly through the medieval city, where its narrow,
densely populated streets housed 8,500 people. The death rate was six times the national average
and higher than that in any other similar sized, English city.
All classes of society were affected, although poorer people living in unhealthy conditions were most
vulnerable. It struck quickly, causing a high fever and death often occurred within twenty four hours,
although some victims did survive. In Salisbury, between 17 July and 10 September 1849, it claimed
200 lives and over 1300 new cases were admitted to the Infirmary. The isolation hospital at Bugmore,
positioned next to a sewage-ridden, open stream, probably hampered recovery. Victims were buried
within the city, at either St Edmund’s or St Martin’s graveyards.
At that time, the cause of cholera was unknown. It was suggested that it stemmed from evil vapours
and remedies such as peppermint water or Opium mixed with sulphur and ice were suggested.
Another idea was a special belt that would protect its wearers from infection. It was only later realised
that crowded living conditions and drinking infected water spread the disease and were at the root of
the problem.
The local paper was reluctant to report deaths from the disease even though the editor‘s wife was a
victim. It did include reports later however, after being criticised for ‘censorship’ by the London Times.
Maybe it hoped to allay fear by ignoring the problem. Nineteenth century Salisbury was a very
unhealthy city and it is not surprising that it was so badly affected by cholera. Known as the ‘Venice
of England’, its chequered streets were lined with water channels which were linked to the River Avon.
The water courses were probably built around 1350 and were at first in the middle of the streets. In
the 18th century they were replaced by more convenient channels at the side of the streets.
The channels provided a free water supply which the population used for drinking, cooking and
washing. An engraving of 1829 showed the water course in Minster Street being put to various uses
by the inhabitants who failed to realise, or perhaps ignored, the fact that they were contaminated by
dirty water, sewage and rubbish. They frequently became blocked and had to be dredged. The river
hatches were closed once a day to allow sewage to run into the courses and to be flushed away by the
increased flow when they re-opened.
7
Properties with no street frontage depended on wells and pumps. This water was also contaminated
by seepage from the water courses and was often discoloured and smelly. It is not surprising that
visitors to Salisbury commented on the filth and stench.
After the cholera epidemic, Dr Andrew Middleton led a campaign to improve sanitary conditions in
the city.
In 1850, the Director of Highways commissioned a survey of the water courses. At the meeting which
followed, Middleton and other doctors supported the replacement of the channels with deep drains.
Landowners, who owned many of the properties, were reluctant to pay rates or to support the costs
of improvements and only agreed to repair the water courses. Medical opinions were not even
recorded.
Middleton was so angry that he complained to the Board of Health and, in 1851, an inspection of the
city was carried out by Mr Thomas Rammall. His main recommendations were that a proper fresh
water supply and a separate sewerage system should be provided, dwellings should be improved and
a new cemetery provided outside the centre of the city. A local Board of Health should be formed to
implement the 1848 Public Health Act.
In 1853, work began to supply water to the city and to provide a modern sewerage system. The
Sewerage Works at Bugmore had been built by 1881. The water courses were gradually filled in; the
last, in New Canal, being closed in 1875. A Medical Officer of Health was appointed in 1873.
The city became a cleaner, healthier place. The death rate fell dramatically from 28 per thousand in
1849 to 17 per thousand in 1870. Dr Middleton’s perseverance and hard work had succeeded; he had
rid Salisbury of its ‘Venice’.
Various articles retrieved from the ditches, when they were cleared, were bought at auction for £32
and given to Salisbury Museum (at that time in Ann Street). Known as the ‘Drainage Collection’, it is
a reminder of Salisbury’s unhealthy past.
Carolyn Birch
Based on Ruth Newman’s talk and supported by other sources.
Endless Street John Chandler
City of Salisbury Hugh Shortt
Letters from Middleton to the Salisbury and Winchester Journal
8
Notes on the Wiltshire Dialect
Following his interesting and entertaining talk on the local dialect at our December 1998 meeting, Rod
Phillimore, born and bred in Redlynch, gave me his notes so that l could include an article in the
Review. Arguably, Rod said that he didn’t think that there was anyone left in the village now who
spoke with a true local dialect although he remembered quite a few who did when he was a child.
Being placed as we are in border country the village dialect has always been a mixture containing
elements of the Hampshire, Dorset, Wiltshire, and New Forest dialects. The result is a softer
intonation than much of Wiltshire, the dialect often being mistaken for that of the western area
around Bristol. Each area has its own words for various things although some are used over a wider
area than others. Rod remembered a favourite catch phrase when he was a boy:
‘Cas’nt see as well as coust cast?’ which means ‘You can’t see as well as you could, can you?’
Another characteristic was to cut out unnecessary words.
‘What do you think?’ becomes ‘Wos think?’
Conversations could be carried out in words of one syllable. A chap wishing to draw attention to
another might say:
‘Yer’ and the other reply ‘Ay’
‘Ee’ ‘Oo Ee’
‘Ah’ ‘Oh ah.’
Rod, of course, included some anecdotes in his talk. Two farm labourers were hoeing in a field. They
had fallen out first thing about whether they should hoe with the sun in front of them or behind them.
When they sat down for their morning break, one of them attempted to start a conversation.
‘Ah.’ The second, not wanting to be outdone said ‘Ah.’
The first said ‘Wass mean, Ah.’ The second replied, ‘What I said was bloody Ah.’
The first countered with ‘Well, why dis’nt say so in first place!’
It was a habit to change or add letters: ‘chimney’ became ‘chimley’, ‘funeral’ became ‘fruneral’ and
‘yours’ became ‘your'ne.’
Z was substituted for an S and a V for an F. So ‘sickness’ became ‘zickness’, ‘folk' became ‘volk’ and
‘feels’ became ‘veels’. ‘Veels as ow I should.’
Vowels were swopped, so ‘hedge’ became ‘hidge’. An example of this was when a Salisbury Journal
reporter was interviewing a shepherd who spent long periods alone up on the downs during lambing
time. He asked the shepherd:
9
‘What do you do about sex?’ The shepherd thought for a moment and then replied, ‘Has me tea!‘
The farm workers weren‘t alone in altering words.
A very posh gentleman who didn’t have a local accent went in to Sidney Stevens shop in Downton
and asked for some ‘tiles’. Sidney went to great pains to explain they were a draper‘s shop and didn’t
sell tiles whereupon the gentleman said that he wanted ‘tiles to dry his hands‘.
Some Local Words
Ack‘le To work or function Agg Egg Argivvy Argue Arn Any Arter After Athit Across Aukurd Awkward Avore Before Baint Am not Betimes Sometimes Bide Stay Bist Are you Bummle Talk or act confusedly Bwoy Chap, young man Caddly Unsettled Cast Can Cassn’t Cannot Chimp Sprout Chivvey Nag Coom Come Crest Top of ploughed field Cwoat Through Dang Damn Dassn’t Dare not Deid Dead Downside Up upside down Dree Three Droo Through Ef’n If Gawp Stare Geate Gate, or 3’hurdle Gert Large Gwine Going Hidge Hedge Hellum Elm Hoss Horse Janty Jaunty Jiy Joy Leate Late Leane Lane Leary Sparse or cold Likely Properly, well Lowren Lowering, threatening Lak Look Narn None Nit Nor Pitch Snow that settles Prong Garden fork Plaze Please Pwoke Poke Pleach Section of laid hedge Squiggen Peer, or squint Squinney Child crying Swo So Shrammed Cold Termut Turnip Thic This, or that Thic-ways This, or that way Tututhhs Two toothed Tober Walk Tobey On tramping One It, he, her/him Vall (the) Autumn Valler Follow ground Vor For Vust First Whoam Home Wold Old Wook-off Turn right Wutts Oats Yaw Ewe Year Hear Yer Here Zet Sit
Pat Millington
10
Strange Goings on at Toad’s Flat…
Many years ago, we decided to demolish an old, dilapidated pigsty in our Redlynch cottage garden. I
had been trying to grow mushrooms in it without much success - the tin roof leaked, there were big
holes in the boarding, the concrete floor was breaking up and I hit my head on the low door frame
each time I went in. So it was duly pulled down in favour of a bigger and better building.
Under the floor, to his surprise, my husband found several skulls - not human ones I hasten to add. I
was not there at the discovery, but, with a macabre sense of humour, my husband left one on the
kitchen table for me with a knife and fork each side. They were either horse or cow, perhaps some of
each. I did not examine them too carefully as I am not much ‘into bones’, but each one had a neat
little hole in the forehead.
Was this a well-known Redlynch custom I wonder; a sort of good luck charm to grow fatter pigs? Or
was it just a convenient way of getting rid of animal heads from the slaughter house after they had
been boiled down for pig feed. I think my husband ultimately disposed of them in the dustbin, so I do
hope that no dustman had a bad fright. This was before the days of black plastic dustbin lines neatly
tied up with string.
George (‘Fishy’) Lane had been the previous occupant of the cottage. He had sometimes kept the
wheeled bier and made crosses from the many flowers in his garden. I believe he was found dead in
the front room by Sylvie Tanner. After this, the cottage stood empty for four years; no one wanted to
buy it and the garden slowly closed over. It is a testament to the powers of nature that, when I moved
in as a tenant, it was impossible to open the back door for the bushes and trees so access round the
back was temporarily via the window. The remains of a greenhouse and various rotting sheds loomed
out of the brambles. With some trepidation on windy nights, I kept my car in one of these.
It was decided to pull this down and build a new one before an accident occurred to my precious Mini.
My future husband-to-be helped and we made a bonfire of all the timber which burnt merrily with a
big glow. I thought it would be nice to bake some potatoes in the ashes at the edge. I remembered
them later and ran out into the darkness lit by the bonfire to rescue them.
As I was raking for them I heard footsteps a slow tread of heavy boots crunching through the
undergrowth. I called out ‘Who’s there?’ just more footsteps getting closer. I panicked, snatched up
a piece of burning timber and flung it in the direction of the sound and bolted back inside. The
potatoes were left behind.
On another occasion, I slipped out in the dark to empty the tea pot and heard the same sound. My
hair really stood on end. This time I threw the tea leaves.
If it WAS you, Mr Lane, I apologise; you should have introduced yourself and we could have had a chat.
I never felt any presence in the house - unless it was Mr Lane who fused all the electricity on my very
first night in the cottage alone in the dark!
Rosalind Pasmore
11
An Account of the Railway Accident at North Charford on 3 June 1884
The terrible railway accident which happened at North Charford on Tuesday, June 3rd, is too fresh in
our minds to need any detailed description here. One of the middle carriages of the 4.50 train from
Downton got off the rails about two hundred yards below the pile bridge across the Avon, and
gradually working further to the left and inner side of the curve, finally caused seven carriages to fall
down the embankment into the meadow. The three central ones were smashed to pieces, and two
of these fell into a pool of water. A few men who saw the accident from the road, and the professors
and students of the Agricultural College, were soon on the spot to render assistance, and Dr. Hartley
and other medical men arrived shortly afterwards. About thirty persons were more or less seriously
injured, some of whom were taken to Salisbury Infirmary, and others were received by Professor
Clarkson into the Agricultural College. Four persons were killed, whose names are well known to many
of us. They were Mr George Waters, jun., Mrs Lush, Mrs Corbin, and Miss Lilian Chandler; and one
more Mr Dent died at the Infirmary next day. The Rev. R. J. Bunbury was in the second carriage, and
had a most fortunate escape, of which he thankfully spoke in his sermon on Sunday morning. This
event has been a great saddening of our Whitsuntide festivities, and has been much in the thoughts
of us all. It is, in fact, a great sermon preached by God himself in the ears of every man, woman and
child in Downton, which they can never forget as long as they live.
(From Downton Parish Magazine, July 1884)
From the Archives...
1737 May 2nd
This night. Hamptworth Woods, belonging to Anthony Duncomhe Esq., at Downton, were set on fire
by some wicked person whereby 20 acres of wood were destroyed: His Majesty promised his most
gracious pardon to any who shall discover his accomplice; and Mr. Duncombe, a reward of £50.
(Extracted from ‘The Gentleman’s Magazine' Vol VII)
1885 September
The parish magazine for this month reported that 150 acres of forest land at Hamptworth Common
had been on fire for six or seven weeks during the very dry weather in July and August.
12
Entertainment in the Twenties and Thirties
Growing up in the 1920's, before radio or television, we had to create our own entertainment in the
village, and there was always plenty going on; dances, socials, concerts etcs. My first experience of
‘drama’ was sitting on the floor in the corner while my sisters and their friends rehearsed a playlet
called 'Maggie’s Dilemma', from the catalogue of ‘Abel Haywood’, and prompting them, from
memory! I was about six at the time.
Around the same time, a group of travelling players visited the village occasionally, hiring the hall for
a week or so while staying at the Forester’s Arms, and presenting such melodramatic delights as ‘East
Lynne’, ‘Over the Hill’, and ‘Uncle Tom’s Cabin'. As kids we hated that Simon Legree as he thrashed
poor Uncle Tom, and how we wept as poor little Eva breathed her last. There were amateur groups
too; the Gummer family from Hale produced plays in the area, and I remember seeing them in a fine
presentation of ‘The Tragedy of Nan’, by John Masefield, in St Birinus’ Hall.
In 1925, Miss Joyce Eyre-Matcham, Dr Brian Whitehead Senior, Mr Donald Egremont Senior and some
friends put on a highly successful pageant of local history in the grounds of Newhouse and, though I
was only eight, I can still remember Sir Walter Tyrell, in the shape of farmer Frank Newman,
dispatching the King with an arrow before galloping off into the sunset! There are still some photos
of the pageant around; I have one of a group of Saxon dancing girls, one of whom was my sister Ethel.
Most of the village seemed to be involved in that pageant.
A regular, annual outdoor event was the British Legion Fete held in the grounds of Redlynch House,
then owned by Colonel and Mrs Tarleton. One of the prime movers in organising this was Mr Tom
Phillimore. It was always well supported and continued into the 1950's.
As I grew older and joined the Boy Scouts, we put on a few concerts, some of them out of doors at
Langley Wood, the home of Mr Cumberbatch, our Honorary Scoutmaster. Later still, I acquired a piano
accordian and did some entertaining on my own account, besides 'borrowing' a few Stanley Holloway
monologues, notably ‘Albert and the Lion’.
Village variety concerts often ended with a one-act sketch or playlet, and two of these come to mind.
‘Moggeridge’s Cow’ was a comedy about ‘mad beef‘ long before the days of BSE, and ‘The Dear
Departed’, a much better play, dealt with a family squabble over an aged parent’s will: until they found
that he had not yet passed on! Ernie Brabrook excelled as the aged parent.
There were plenty of talented singers and comics available. Stan Kimber would come out from
Salisbury and perform as a Wiltshire yoke, complete with smocked frock, and also as an eccentric
parson. Alan and Norman Cooper and their wives Molly and Linda often sang and there were many
others.
Later on in the thirties, Douglas Homer from Winterslow would come over and perform a farm yokel
act, together with a bit of conjuring. He made quite a name for himself on BBC radio during and after
the war, in ‘Worker's Playtime‘ and in a children's programme called 'Cowleaze Farm’, with
broadcaster Ralph Whitlock.
13
It is recorded that, in 1923, the Redlynch Women‘s Institute Choir won the WI Challenge Trophy at the
inauguration of the event. The same year also saw the founding of the highly successful Landford
Choral Society by Miss Olive Boult, who lived at Landford and was the sister of Sir Adrian, the famous
conductor. The Society drew in talent from a wide area, including Redlynch and Woodfalls, and
created a tradition of musical interest which endured for many years. The accompanist was Mr Mont
Coundley, of Redlynch, who was an excellent organist and pianist; sometimes Mrs Linda Cooper
deputised for him. The Cooper family, Alan, Norman, Etta and Molly, often performed as soloists.
Throughout the 1920’s and 1930’s, the Society was in great demand at sacred and secular events. It
performed at Salisbury, Winchester and the surrounding district and competed successfully at many
festivals. Sir Adrian would often visit his sister, bringing celebrities from London with him who would
join in at rehearsals.
This musical experience sowed the seeds of a great deal of choral enterprise in the churches and
chapels around. Woodfalls Methodists, in particular, achieved great success right through to the
1950‘s under the leadership of Mr Alan Cooper and, after him, his son, Philip.
Stan Crouch
(There is no mention here of the Woodfalls Band,
who warrant an exclusive article, or the Orchid Dance
Band, and account of which appeared in our first
edition.
I must thank Mr Philip Cooper for his help with his
help on the Landford Choral Society and the
Woodfalls Choir, from his memory and from the
wealth of material he has kept. A continuation of this
article will deal with the period immediately after
World War II. SCC)
Two of the characters in the Pageant
of Local History
14
Nomansland and How It Became Part of Redlynch
Nomansland has a history stretching back 200 years but, unlike most villages, it can date its beginnings
as a legal settlement to the precise day.
The area had earlier been thought to be part of the 'King's Land' (ie. the New Forest) when a man
called John Shergold built a little house (a ‘collier's cabin’ - colliers were charcoal burners) and
enclosed a garden. In September 1801, Parliamentary Commissioners came to Lyndhurst to enquire
into 654 cases of alleged encroachments on the King’s Land. In the case of Shergold, (No. 626) the
evidence taken on 16 October 1802 from ‘Flower Archurch, groomkeeper of Bramble Walk’, and from
three old men (who totalled 230 years between them) was unanimous in that the place had been
considered part of the New Forest but they were uncertain about exactly ‘where the King’s Land ended
and that of the Bishop of Winchester began’. The Commissioners did not give their decision
immediately but waited until they had visited the site on 23 October 18021, after they had been to
Bramble Walk. This was the last day of their work and so they may have felt in genial mood and,
though they did pronounce three cases to be encroachments, they discharged Case 626 and one other.
It may be readily imagined that the land between the original house (thought to be on the site of
‘Boundary Cottage’, at the comer of North Lane and The Green. Certainly, today, this house is at an
angle to both roads and may therefore predate them) and where the Bishop's land was generally
considered to begin did not remain unclaimed for more than a few hours. No doubt people came as
soon as they heard of the Commissioners’ verdict and put up temporary shelters, followed soon after
by more permanent structures and fences around the land they claimed.
The area first settled was principally the rectangle formed by the present North and South Lanes
together with The Green and this was originally called ‘The City’. South Lane did not reach North Lane
until about forty years ago when the District Council decided to save the cost of two name boards.
The short connecting section was ‘Macey’s Lane’ and that was the name on the post box at the end
until very recently. Chapel Lane and a short cul-de-sac off The Green were apparently settled later.
The present village boundary to the east is the garden fences alongside The Green (which is actually
in Bramshaw Parish, since the Forest authorities have never wanted to lose more land) and, at the
present time, this line is also the District and County boundary.
The way the village began still has its influence. Whilst there is a strong community feeling there is,
at least, an equally strong feeling of individualism with remarkable few clubs or societies. A very old
inhabitant explained this by saying ‘You see, we never had no squire'. Thus almost every house is of
different design and, so far at least, there are no housing estates.
1 The statement in 'Bramshaw People, Parsons and Criminals', a little booklet compiled by a former vicar, the Revd. W H V Elliot, that the case was decided on 23 October 1800 is indeed an accurate copy of the Proceedings of the New Forest Commissioners', reprinted for HMSO in 1853. However, this must be a misprint since these proceedings also say cases were not begun until September 1801 and the chronological arrangement indicates No 626 was decided on 23 October 1802.
15
However, there is a football club which has its pitch on the recreation ground at the end of School
Road where there is also a children’s playground. The cricket club play their matches on The Green,
which gives a stupendous view across many miles of Hampshire to Dean Hill. Until some twenty years
ago, the boundary was the garden fences and thus the pitch included parts of two roads. The umpire
looked around and allowed any vehicles to pass before nodding to the bowler to bowl. In deference
to modern traffic, the edge of the pitch is now the other side of the road and has pushed a little into
the forest so that the boundary now includes three oak trees and one beech tree. It also includes the
War Memorial, called ‘The Well of Sacrifice’ and there was formerly a drinking trough for forest
animals on its east side.
The School has Church of England aided status and has maintained about sixty-five pupils with three
teachers. The other public building is the Reading Room, built in 1910 for the improvement of the
villagers. It is used for many types of meetings and still has a few books.
The population was thought to have been about 250 in 1910 and is about 450 today. Many of the
original family names are still frequent; for example, Hatch, Kinga Dibden, Batten and Winter.
Although the village is almost equidistant between Southampton and Salisbury, most people work,
and generally look towards the south rather than to Salisbury. Indeed, originally, the only road into
Nomansland, according to the first Ordnance Survey map of 1811, went down the hill beside The
Green, then up to Piper’s Wait where it diverted from the modern road southwards across to Bramble
Hill. Its route is still to be seen as a wide green strip through the heather.
The most prominent building fronting The Green, built in 1901, is the Methodist Chapel at the top of
the hill, alongside the French Restaurant and the only pub, The Lamb. This is the third chapel; the first
two (of 1848 and about 1875) were in Chapel Lane. The first pub was in South Lane and The Lamb
had a smaller predecessor which was burnt down in 1905.
Most of the original cottages were built of cob; trampled clay and water with chopped heather as
reinforcement. The mixture was placed between wooden shuttering until dry and the walls were
raised about three feet at a time. The first layer was frequently placed directly on the turf with no
foundation trench at all. Many of the walls are more than two feet thick and are now coated, inside
and out, with a cement rendering. They are surprisingly damp free; a property of the specially chosen
salt free clay. Originally, the thatched roofs were low, with a very steep oak stair leading to one or
two bedrooms where heads needed to be bent except at the very centre and where the dormer
window gave light. There are still three cottages with thatch but most now have slated roofs.
Formerly, there was a post office and three small shops but the last closed about fifteen years ago.
Smuggling was popular in the area in the last century, as it was all along the South coast. Nomansland
had a gang that brought barrels of brandy up through the New Forest by horse and cart. The story is
told of the barrels being hidden by day in a well in South Lane. When the excise men were spotted,
the lady of the house seated herself on the well cover and conversed graciously with the Customs
officers until they eventually left. They were evidently too gentlemanly to lift her off the well by force.
The reason for the title of this little history will now become clear. If Nomansland was not in the New
Forest, then it had to be in Wiltshire rather than in Hampshire, and is thought, originally, to have been
‘extra-parochial‘. Towards the end of the nineteenth century it became part of Redlynch when the
16
latter was separated from Downton and, today, Nomansland remains part of Redlynch Civil Parish.
However, since Bramshaw church has always been much closer, particularly via the Church Path
through the Forest, members of the Church of England have always attended there and have been
buried in the churchyard. This situation was regularised in 1955 when all of the present day
Nomansland was transferred to Bramshaw Ecclesiastical Parish. Interestingly, it did not then leave the
Diocese of Salisbury, for Bramshaw and Plaitford, though in Hampshire, were never in Winchester
Diocese.
One further course of confusion is that, until then, School Road had always been part of Hamptworth,
as witness the full name of the school, ‘Nomansland and Hamptworth C. of E. Aided School‘. The school
building and its land was given in 1870 by George Morrison of Hamptworth Lodge. It was designed by
the famous architect, George Gilbert Scott, who also designed the Albert Memorial and St. Pancras
Station.
There is little written history after the account of its start in the Commissioner's Proceedings. H.M.
Livens did write some notes for the Salisbury Times and South Wilts Gazette and these were reprinted
in 1910 as a short history and sold in aid of the building fund for the Reading Room, though copies are
difficult to find these days.
David Kerridge
Nomansland 1999
17
Early Days of Scouting
In May 1911 Major Owen Francis, the local District Commissioner for the Scout Association called a
meeting at Morgan’s Vale Schoolroom to discuss the formation of a Scout detachment in the area. It
was just three years since Lord Baden Powell had initiated the Scouting Movement.
Eleven boys wished to join at this meeting and the Major said it would be starting as soon they could
find ‘a smart, competent young follow to undertake the duties of Scoutmaster‘. Major Francis, who
lived at Hill House and was a churchwarden at St. Laurence's, had already started a troop in Downton.
In March 1912, it was reported in the Parish Magazine that one patrol (troop?) had been formed under
Scoutmaster Bert Newman and Patrol Leader Percy Steele and a second was in formation. During the
previous year, the number of Scouts in the Salisbury and South Wilts Association had risen from 162
to 272 and four other troops, besides Redlynch, had been formed.
Mrs Constance Eyre-Matcham was an Honorary Scoutmaster and, by June 1913, had become one of
a very few, female, accredited scoutmasters in England and the first in Wiltshire. From the beginning
she had been active in fund-raising and in supporting the troops and, throughout these early years,
many of the activities took place at Newhouse. In April 1912, she organised the first of several
concerts in aid of Scout funds in the newly opened St. Mary‘s Hall. By June, sixteen boys were
promoted from Tenderfoot Scouts to 2nd Class Scouts.
Later that year at the Whitsun Bank Holiday, both 1st and 2nd Troops; twenty-seven boys in total,
camped in the Avenue at Newhouse. Frank Street was now an Assistant Scoutmaster. The boys
marched there from the School and slept under canvas. Two bell tents had been lent by the Earl of
Radnor and other equipment was borrowed or hired. Blankets had been purchased and, in October
1914, these were given to the Mayor of Salisbury's Fund for Soldiers. A concert was held round the
camp fire and they marched to church on Whit Sunday. Activities on Monday were watched by a large
number of visitors. The Magazine reports that Mrs Eyre-Matcham had presented the lads with their
colours in March 1912 and, in another item in August, describes the dedication and presentation of
colours to the Scouts (presumably to the 2nd Troop) at Newhouse in July. These were donated by Mrs
Crigan who was a relative of Mrs Walke, the widow of a previous vicar, who still lived in the parish.
Mrs Crigan's son, Davison, was a 'King's Scout', probably with a troop in Sherborne. Davison Crigan,
whose name (there Spelt as Davidson) appears on the War Memorial Plaque in St. Mary's Church,
became an Ambulance Driver with the British Red Cross and died at Wimille, France in 1919, aged 19.
Redlynch Scouts attended a Rally at Longford Park in August, together with three troops from Salisbury
and others from Whiteparish, Laverstock. Alderbury, Wilton and Longford. The Salisbury and
Alderbury Girl Guides were also present and demonstrated their first aid abilities. Redlynch Troop
gave a display of waggon dismantling and did so well in the sports that Wilton Troop presented them
with a cake and a note saying 'Redlynch takes the cake; they deserve it!‘
In December 1912, the Scouts provided a Guard of Honour for the Bishop who was visiting St. Mary‘s
Hall for the first time.
18
The boys obviously kept busy during the winter months and, in February 1913, put on an Exhibition
and Sale of Work at the Hall when mats, baskets, doormats, trellis work, garden chairs and hammocks
were sold and nearly £12 raised for funds. Mention is also made of a Cadet Patrol for boys between
eight and eleven years. One or two of the boys then went on to win prizes at the Wiltshire Art and
Craft Exhibition at Marlborough. Badges with the titles of White Horse, Engineer, Pathfinder, Cyclist,
Naturalist, Gardener and Bugler were awarded to several boys.
In June 1913, a Rifle Range for the use of the older boys opened at the chalk pit on Pensworth Farm.
It was affiliated to the National Rifle Association and practice was with Morris tube rifies. Walter
Dredge won the first medal for marksmanship.
Activities were varied, and in July, Redlynch won a cricket match against Wilton Scouts. There were
again camps at Newhouse, a rally at Longford and competitions for an intertroop trophy; events which
were repeated during the following year. At the Longford Rally in August 1914, Lord Radnor was with
the Territorials and Lady Radnor spoke on his behalf, stressing that the skill acquired by Boy Scouts
would be of use to their country in the near future. She knew that 'they might be counted upon when
the time came’.
The war soon made its impact on the local boys. By October, a War Service Badge had been instigated
by the Boy Scouts Association for any scout who served his country for three hours a day over twenty-
eight days. The Donegal Medal for Shooting was awarded to Assistant Scoutmaster Street who was
serving in the North Sea, Major Francis had re-joined the colours, one lad had joined the territorials
and another was a trumpeter in the 10th Lancers. On a brighter note, Scout William Beesley was
awarded the Scout Medal of Merit for rescuing a small boy from the river at Charlton and his
photograph was forwarded for display at Headquarters. Beesley had won a prize for swimming and
for diving at the Longford Rally in 1912.
Easter Monday, 1915 saw an ‘animated gathering of Baden Powell Scouts and the Church Lads’
Brigade’ when two hundred boys took part in a 'wide game'. The theme was th6 capture of a gang of
jewel thieves who had stolen a quantity of jewellery in Salisbury before hiding up in the woods at
Pepper Box. Redlynch and Downton Scouts were the robbers and were duly captured by the pursuers.
After collecting the outlying detachments the scouts paraded in front of the spectators on the downs
and were rewarded with tea at Downton Public Hall.
This seems to have been the last big event as the influence of the war moved ever closer. At Whitsun,
the recruiting party of the 7th Wiltshire Regiment was invited to the camp at Newhouse and, although
they were unable to come, a number of scouts were soon in the forces, both military and naval. The
Scout troops seem to have included Sea Scouts amongst their numbers.
In July l916, Buglers Targett and Snelgrove blew the Last Post for their one time colleague Cecil Pilgrim
who died in Newcastle having been wounded in the head at the front, Pilgrim had joined HMS
Warspite in 1913 and was then in the Mercantile Marine before joining the Lancashire Fusiliers.
Information about the local Scouts comes to an end at this point but, when a ’newly formed’ troop
started in 1929, Bert Newman was again the Scoutmaster. In May 1930, the Scout Hut, then at Toads'
Flat and now off Vale Road, was opened for the use of Scouts, Cubs and Girl Guides.
19
(Information has come from Parish Magazines, newspaper reports and, above all, from a scrapbook
kept by Bert Newman which is now in the possession of his daughter, Mrs Jenny Brown. Thank you
for allowing me to use it)
Pat Millington
REDLYNCH 2000
The Communities of Hamptworth. Lover. Morgan's Vale. Nomanslandt Redlynch and Woodfalls.
This 50+ page book is due to be published on 1 November 1999 and will be available from Society members and selected local shops.
It is a directory of the social and economic life of the parish of Redlynch at the Second Millennium and will a useful reference point now and an historic source in years to come.
Please support the Society by buying a copy of this useful directory.
Charlie Snelgrove b. 1899
20
The Poor of Downton Parish 1800 to 1835
In 1836 the parish of Downton (of which Redlynch was a part) chartered a ship to send 220 poor
people to Canada. Whiteparish and Standlynch added fifty-nine more, to bring the total to 279. It
seems that the parish had a large number of permanently unemployed men on relief. What were the
conditions that led to the parish needing to send nearly a tenth of its population abroad?
Here we briefly consider the main social issues of the first part of the nineteenth century. Then I want
to roughly sketch parish history from 1813 to 1835 as seen through parish and poor law records. In a
further issue of the Redlynch Review we can consider the emigration itself.
Nineteenth century Britain is marked by a period of tremendous social change, and the subsequent
emergence of a large middle class due to the industrial revolution. There were at least three major
issues for the people of the day. The war with France and America, dramatically rising population and
the problem of the poor, and improving agriculture to support the needs of the country.
The first fifteen years of the century were no doubt dominated by Britain's war with France which
endured for a number of years, and in various theatres. An entry in the diary of Thomas Snelgrove of
Redlynch reveals public sentiment:
1798, April 29th The inhabitants of Downton met at church to consider about
the Socishon of Arms if the French intends to land in England.1
The war was to continue until 1815, with a brief interlude in 1802. There was a period when there
was a war with the United States as well. This war was fought mainly as a series of border skirmishes
between the Canadian colonies and the United States. In that war, Washington and Toronto were
sacked, before the war ended in a draw in 1815.
The end of the various wars saw the return of numerous veterans who needed employment, and a fall
in the price of corn. For the sake of producers, parliament passed laws to ensure the price of corn was
kept high.
A second major concern was that of a growing population. A 1798 essay by the Reverend Thomas
Malthus had grabbed the attention of thinking people, in which he outlined a clash between the
growth in population, and the means to support them. It was feared that ultimately, the country could
be heading for disaster, and this pessimism was to dominate upper class thinking and would manifest
itself in their treatment of the poor. The rising number of poor labourers, as a result of bad economic
conditions and the Industrial Revolution, was a confirmation that problems lie ahead.
The third issue was that improvements in agriculture were needed to support a growing population.
One of the main obstacles to improvement was the fragmentation of arable land into small parcels,
and valuable land being used as commons. A landowner could more efficiently manage large parcels
of contiguous land than many small parcels of land scattered throughout the parish. As an indicator
of efforts made to improve agriculture, in 1800 arable land occupied approximately one fifth of
Wiltshire‘s land. In 1870 one third was under corn alone.2
21
On 3 June 1813 parliament passed an act for inclosing lands in the Parish of Downton.3 In the act,
commissioners were appointed with powers to amalgamate and redistribute land, and include
available commons. The rights of common were to cease, as well as tenancies. They were given a
number of years to complete the task. On 18 October 1822 the enclosure was awarded. Some of the
major beneficiaries were the Bishop of Winchester, Earl Radnor, Earl Nelson, Rev. Thomas Lear,
Charles Shuckburgh and Robert Shafto. Numerous other smaller landowners are listed in the award.
No doubt the enclosure would increase agricultural productivity for the parish. It probably had at least
two consequences for the parish. The first would be the displacement of the poor, who probably had
lived on the commons. The second problem would be finding employment for the surplus labourers
whose services were no longer needed.
By 1819, the poor were obviously a concern. The parish gave the management of the poor to a
committee of substantial landowners called the Select Vestry. Composed of Rev. Thomas Lear, Earl
Radnor, Earl Nelson, Robert Eden Duncombe Shafto, Charles Shuckburgh and others, this committee
was given power to dictate parish policy for attending to the poor. No doubt it would be felt that
those who were taxed to support the poor should have a say in how the funds were managed. One
can imagine that the landed gentry really did begin to wonder if Malthus’ predictions were proving
true.
Where were the poor of the parish living? Were they scattered amongst the population at large, or
were they in scattered pockets? Evidence seems scanty, at best. Victoria County History for Downton
Hundred mentions possibilities. It states that south of Grove Copse the land remained open until 1822
... that settlement was dispersed and of poor squatter type. In 1773, settlement was along the edges
of the commons, especially along Black Lane at Redlynch and Warminster Green (Lover). A surveyor
in 1780 complained that the commons were ‘daily‘ being encroached upon for the building of cottages
and houses.
Rosalind Pasmore in The Redlynch Book4 states that after the 1822 enclosure, small allotments were
created for the dispossessed commoners mainly at Paccombe Common, and that these allotments
rapidly disappeared. The reasons why the people so rapidly abandoned or sold their land are not
known. Perhaps the land was not arable or suitable to eke out a living.
So where did the poor who were displaced in 1822 go? It‘s not unreasonable to think that they
probably became employed as agricultural labourers working for the large land owners.
Select Vestry minutes in 1821, 1822 and 1825 mention smallpox, vaccination of the poor, and in 1832
there is a mention of cholera. Parish records that survive are not very detailed concerning the
condition of the agricultural labourers. We can only infer from secondary Sources.
The poor state of the agricultural labourer was the subject of comment of William Cobbett, writer and
political gadfly, when he rode from Salisbury to Warminster in 1826. He contrasted the beautiful state
of farms and the countryside with the lot of the labourers: ‘it is not very easy for the eyes of man to
discover a labouring people more miserable‘. Evidence seems to suggest that Downton parish was not
much different.
22
By the mid-1820s, mechanisation was making itself felt in rural areas. For most farm workers, winter
was a time of unemployment when one of the few jobs available from September to December was
hand threshing the year‘s harvest. The harvests from 1828 to 1830 had been poor, and the new
threshing machines appeared as symbols of unemployment and starvation. In November 1830, the
Swing riots swept the county. Machines in Downton, Whiteparish and West Dean were destroyed. At
the trials in Salisbury, 339 prisoners were tried, two were sentenced to death but later reprieved and
153 were sentenced to transportation. The revolt of the labourers was broken.
In 1835, Samuel Payne, Assistant overseer of Downton Parish, looking back, describes the parish
labourers thus:
Prior to the winter of 1831 the superfluous labourers of this Parish were
generally employed on the Roads or in the Gravel Pits in congregated masses
of from 50 to 100, the few industrious Labourers being thus brought into
contact with the indolent, dishonest and profligate, the former then assumed
the character of the latter, and theft rioting drunkenness became the result,
passers-by accosted with the most obscene language, and their general
behaviour was of the most violent and daring description. In consequence of
which the Churchwardens & overseers finding it absolutely impossible to
conduct parochial affairs under such circumstances...5
Perhaps remembering the events of the previous year, on 7 November 1831 the Downton Select
Vestry decided that a plan ‘to improve the demoralised character of the peasantry by finding them
labour and also enabling all who pay the poor rates to receive labour adequate to such payment’6 be
adopted. The plan provided for a labourer to be paid nine shillings a week in exchange for working
for a ratepayer during the times when there was not enough work in the parish. In practice, this meant
that the work programme would be discontinued during harvest time, when landowners would hire
labourers to help with the work. This scheme seemed to allay the problem and was to continue yearly
until at least 1835.
In 1832 cholera struck the parish and the Select Vestry convened a special committee to provide
assistance. The precautions dictated are telling of parish conditions. They decided to set up a special
building as a hospital, if needed. They sent out printed handbills telling inhabitants to:
Remove from their dwellings filth of every description, particularly heaps of
dung and ashes; to cleanse their drains and privies, and to burn all decayed
articles of rubbish, such as rags, papers, old clothes etc.
A covered litter of conveyance of the sick was to be provided, and
John Poore and Francis Plaskett be employed as Day Watchmen for the more
strict enforcement of the Law with respect to the removal and, if necessary, the
apprehension of common beggars, vagrants, sellers of matches, etc.... in case
of death the corpse not be washed nor carried at burial into the church. The
coffin to be carefully pitched in the inside.7
23
Things did not change from 1832 to 1834. Vestry minutes show numerous people being granted
shoes, coats and blankets. Harriet King applied for a bed blanket and coverlid (she being very ill) it
was granted, as was James Bundy‘s request for flannel for a waistcoat.
Parish registers record early 1833 as being a difficult time. In the period from 27 January to 18 May,
sixteen children were buried. Ten of them died before the end of February.8
The parish was still looking for work projects for the poor; on 26 February overseers Hooper, Taunton
and Payne wrote the Cranborne Chase and New Forest Turnpike authority a letter stating that the
parish would contribute labourers to the building of a road.9
By 1834, public opinion throughout England was decidedly against the poor, so the law was reformed.
The new law stipulated that help had to be obtained from a workhouse. And the regime of a
workhouse was to be harsh enough to deter all but the desperate from claiming relief. Downton
parish joined other parishes and founded the Alderbury Union in 1835, when the leaders, called the
Guardians began to meet on a weekly basis. They kept detailed minute books that list costs associated
with helping the poor.
In 1835, the parish population is listed as consisting of 3,652 people. For the years 1833 to 1835 the
parish paid a yearly average of £3,641 in poor relief.10 By the end of 1835, the Guardians were applying
to London for plans to build a workhouse for 300 paupers.11
The poor were such a crushing burden that the Select Vestry decided it called for strong measures,
since there was no end in sight. They may well have had fears that they would forever be paying rates
to support the workhouse whilst receiving no labour to return. What is evident from the Poor Law
Commissioners records is that the Select Vestry viewed the parish as having a surplus of poor labourers
and females who made a pittance making lace. Malthus’ predictions had indeed come true for the
parish.
In a letter to the Commissioners, overseer Hooper mentions that Colonel Aloush(?) had recommended
emigration to the parish as a way to solve the problem.12 This was not a new idea, as the Colonial
Office was encouraging emigration as a means of reducing the pauper population and strengthening
British North America against American encroachment.
So in early May of 1835, the Pressey, Chalk, and King families and four single men; twenty-five people
in total, sailed from Portsmouth on the American ship Louisa. The parish covered expenses.13 No
doubt these families were sent to spy out the land, in anticipation of luring others. They ended up in
the wilds of Upper Canada in the Talbot Settlement along Lake Erie. They wrote back of continuous
employment, and a good life, creating no small stir amongst the inhabitants of Downton parish.
Ken Light C/O Elgin County Branch. Ontario Genealogical Society, Box 20060, St. Thomas. ON N5P 4H4 Canada
24
1 A.R. Woodford, History of Downton, (Downton: N. pub., N.d.), p, 23
2 Bruce Watkin, A History of Wiltshire, (Chichester: Phillimore, 1989), p. 92
3 Act 53 G. III c.148
4 R. Pasmore editor, The Redlynch Book, (Redlynch, Rcdlynch Map Project Group, 1989), p. 6
5 The National Archives [TNA]: MH 12/13639 document 508
6 Downton Select Vestry Minutes 22 February 1832, as quoted in History of Downton, p. 16
7 Ibid.
8 Wiltshire Record Office [hereafter WRO]: 914/29 Baptisms & Burials 1832 to 1854 (an unofficial copy kept by the vicar).
9 WRO: 1306/124 Early 19th cent. A few misc. loose papers dealing with the parish roads.
10 TNA: MH 12/13639 A report filed with the Poor Law Commissioners in London.
11 Ibid, piece 12,966
12 TNA MH/13639 piece 1952
13 WRO: 1306/1052 Misc. financial papers relating to the emigration of a group 0f paupers, probably to CANADA
