Pre 20th Century Stourton Caundle
The Manor of Stourton Caundle
The first records relating to the founding of the Manor of Stourton Caundle date from the year 1202, with a purchase of land by Sir Henry de Haddon, a member of a Northamptonshire family, from East or West Haddon, and originally from Normandy. He and his descendants then consolidated their holding with further acquisitions. With the failure of male issue at three subsequent stages, the land ownership passed by marriage through two generations of the Fitzwarin family, then two generations of the Chideock family and, finally in 1461 to the Stourton family. The original name "Caundle Haddon" persisted well into the long dynasty, of the Stourton family, ending in 1727, from whom the present name derives.
The present name "Stourton Caundle" sometimes “Caundle Stourton”, has survived both a first sale by the Stourtons to the Hoare family in 1727 and the dispersal sales of 1911 and 1919. From the time of the final dispersal sale the Manor, although Sir Henry Hoare did retain the Lordship, has effectively ceased to exist.
The earliest information on the lands of the Manor comes from the Domesday Survey of 1086, which contains 10 separate records of land known as "Candel", "In Candele" or Candelle". Of these 10 records there are two which are thought to refer to areas which eventually came together to form the Manor of Caundle Haddon, subsequently Stourton Caundle.
The hub of the Manor was the castle situated in a field called "Court Barton" on the northern side of the Caundle Brook, at the rear of Manor Farm, probably built by Lord John the Third of the Haddon Lords, at the end of the 13th Century. On the opposite side of the brook was a small chapel, a mill, a fishpond, a pigeon loft.
The diarist Leland (1506- 1552), wrote in his itinerary that "the Chideocks dwelt at summtyme at Cawndel; this Manor place is owned by Lord Stourton”. He was referring to Sir John Chideock, who died in 1450, the last of the Manorial Lords to live in this Castle. When the Manor passed to the Stourton family in 1461 it became a "removing house" or a “jointure house" for Dowager widows of the family.
After the demise of the castle a tithe barn was constructed on the northern boundary of the site, using stone from the ruined castle. Most of the public footpaths and bridle-ways radiate from here. As recently as 1821 regular Manorial Court Sessions were being held in the tithe barn at Court Barton.
The first records relating to the founding of the Manor of Stourton Caundle date from the year 1202, with a purchase of land by Sir Henry de Haddon, a member of a Northamptonshire family, from East or West Haddon, and originally from Normandy. He and his descendants then consolidated their holding with further acquisitions. With the failure of male issue at three subsequent stages, the land ownership passed by marriage through two generations of the Fitzwarin family, then two generations of the Chideock family and, finally in 1461 to the Stourton family. The original name "Caundle Haddon" persisted well into the long dynasty, of the Stourton family, ending in 1727, from whom the present name derives.
The present name "Stourton Caundle" sometimes “Caundle Stourton”, has survived both a first sale by the Stourtons to the Hoare family in 1727 and the dispersal sales of 1911 and 1919. From the time of the final dispersal sale the Manor, although Sir Henry Hoare did retain the Lordship, has effectively ceased to exist.
The earliest information on the lands of the Manor comes from the Domesday Survey of 1086, which contains 10 separate records of land known as "Candel", "In Candele" or Candelle". Of these 10 records there are two which are thought to refer to areas which eventually came together to form the Manor of Caundle Haddon, subsequently Stourton Caundle.
The hub of the Manor was the castle situated in a field called "Court Barton" on the northern side of the Caundle Brook, at the rear of Manor Farm, probably built by Lord John the Third of the Haddon Lords, at the end of the 13th Century. On the opposite side of the brook was a small chapel, a mill, a fishpond, a pigeon loft.
The diarist Leland (1506- 1552), wrote in his itinerary that "the Chideocks dwelt at summtyme at Cawndel; this Manor place is owned by Lord Stourton”. He was referring to Sir John Chideock, who died in 1450, the last of the Manorial Lords to live in this Castle. When the Manor passed to the Stourton family in 1461 it became a "removing house" or a “jointure house" for Dowager widows of the family.
After the demise of the castle a tithe barn was constructed on the northern boundary of the site, using stone from the ruined castle. Most of the public footpaths and bridle-ways radiate from here. As recently as 1821 regular Manorial Court Sessions were being held in the tithe barn at Court Barton.
The Lords of the Manor
The member of this family who had probably the closest personal connections with the village was Lady Agnes, wife of Edward Lord Stourton, Lord of the Manor from 1523 to 1535. Before her marriage she was Agnes Fontleroy of Caundle Marsh (Font le Roi Farm) and after her husband’s death she resided for many years in the castle which had become the family dower house. There is uncertainty over her place of burial. However in addition to her joint tomb, surmounted by effigies of her husband and herself, in the family church at Stourton, Wiltshire, there was at one time either a tomb, or a heart tomb, of alabaster dedicated to her memory in St Peters Church at Stourton Caundle. A window nearby displayed her Coat of Arms. She had four sons and one daughter. The date of her death is not recorded but this would have occurred about 1570.
The only other personal connection to gain a place in the records has been the notorious story of the murders carried out in the castle by Charles Lord Stourton, grandson of Lady Agnes, who had succeeded in 1548. On the 12th of January 1557 he invited to the castle a man by the name of Hartgill accompanied by his son. Lord Charles had a long running disagreement with Hartgill, though they were at this time apparently reconciled. Lord Charles arranged for them to be knocked down with clubs by his servants. Who then cut their throats and buried them in the cellar, in order to prevent their discovery. When these cruel murders came to light he was indicted on February 26th 1557 and interned in the Tower of London. After his conviction for the murders he was taken from the Tower to Salisbury Market Square, where he was hanged along with four of his servants, on March 16th. Queen Mary refused to grant him a reprieve, even though he was a Roman Catholic, as were all his ancestors and successors. The only concession being that he was hung using a halter of silk in respect of his noble ancestory. He was buried in Saint Mary’s chapel in Salisbury Cathedral. The silk halter was preserved in the village, as a gruesome relic long after the event. The family was penalised for a time, however ]ohn, son of Charles, was restored "in blood, and partly estate," in 1576, by an Act of Parliament, in the reign of Queen Elizabeth.
The member of this family who had probably the closest personal connections with the village was Lady Agnes, wife of Edward Lord Stourton, Lord of the Manor from 1523 to 1535. Before her marriage she was Agnes Fontleroy of Caundle Marsh (Font le Roi Farm) and after her husband’s death she resided for many years in the castle which had become the family dower house. There is uncertainty over her place of burial. However in addition to her joint tomb, surmounted by effigies of her husband and herself, in the family church at Stourton, Wiltshire, there was at one time either a tomb, or a heart tomb, of alabaster dedicated to her memory in St Peters Church at Stourton Caundle. A window nearby displayed her Coat of Arms. She had four sons and one daughter. The date of her death is not recorded but this would have occurred about 1570.
The only other personal connection to gain a place in the records has been the notorious story of the murders carried out in the castle by Charles Lord Stourton, grandson of Lady Agnes, who had succeeded in 1548. On the 12th of January 1557 he invited to the castle a man by the name of Hartgill accompanied by his son. Lord Charles had a long running disagreement with Hartgill, though they were at this time apparently reconciled. Lord Charles arranged for them to be knocked down with clubs by his servants. Who then cut their throats and buried them in the cellar, in order to prevent their discovery. When these cruel murders came to light he was indicted on February 26th 1557 and interned in the Tower of London. After his conviction for the murders he was taken from the Tower to Salisbury Market Square, where he was hanged along with four of his servants, on March 16th. Queen Mary refused to grant him a reprieve, even though he was a Roman Catholic, as were all his ancestors and successors. The only concession being that he was hung using a halter of silk in respect of his noble ancestory. He was buried in Saint Mary’s chapel in Salisbury Cathedral. The silk halter was preserved in the village, as a gruesome relic long after the event. The family was penalised for a time, however ]ohn, son of Charles, was restored "in blood, and partly estate," in 1576, by an Act of Parliament, in the reign of Queen Elizabeth.
The Castle
The 1709 estate map indicates the site with the words "an old house", and Hutchins records in 1773 that "it is now ruined, and a chapel belonging to it has been turned into a barn". Ground plans, filed with the Stourhead Estate papers, in the Wilts Record Office, show that the Castle was 90ft square, with an outer court, 55 ft. by 15 ft, facing south with circular turrets, 16 ft. inches in diameter, at the north east and north west corners.
The castle was constructed on a slightly raised platform and located within the L of a fishpond. The long arm of the L shaped pond, was 30ft.by 50 ft., ran from west to east and was fed from the Caundle Brook which also used to supply the water power for the mill along a leet running parallel to the southern boundary of this field.
There are no longer any traces of the castle, which fell into ruin at the end of the 16th Century. Ernest Palmer when excavating a trench to lay a water pipe to the tithe barn in the late 1930s came upon a layer of cinder, which suggests that the ruined castle had finally been destroyed by fire. He also unearthed a mediaeval horseman’s spur, which is now in the Dorchester County Museum. The excavations for the fishponds, constructed in 1971, revealed nothing but an unusual number of small oyster shells. Pieces of molded stone, which may have come from the castle, have been found embodied in other buildings in the village.
The small chapel still stands among the farm buildings on the southern side of the brook, without the chancel portion as mentioned in its description by Hutchins III in 1869. The RCHM records the chapel as being 13th Century with a nave 21ft by 18ft, north and east walls nearly 3ft thick. A north doorway with a chamfered two-centered head, continuous jambs and a segmental pointed rear-arch and lancet windows in both north and south walls though the latter, like the east wall, is a modern reconstruction. There is said to be a small burial ground to the south of this chapel, one skeleton having been brought to the surface by floodwaters. There is no information available to show the dedication of this chapel, its use or its relationship with St. Peter’s Church
The site and watercourse of the mill, an important asset in the days of the Haddon Lords, may still be discerned. When last in use it had an iron water wheel donated as scrap iron to the war effort in the 1914.No trace remains of the pigeon loft which is shown in early maps to the east of the centre in Court Barton field. The tithe barn, probably 17th or 18th Century was still in use until 1963 when it was destroyed by fire,
The 1709 estate map indicates the site with the words "an old house", and Hutchins records in 1773 that "it is now ruined, and a chapel belonging to it has been turned into a barn". Ground plans, filed with the Stourhead Estate papers, in the Wilts Record Office, show that the Castle was 90ft square, with an outer court, 55 ft. by 15 ft, facing south with circular turrets, 16 ft. inches in diameter, at the north east and north west corners.
The castle was constructed on a slightly raised platform and located within the L of a fishpond. The long arm of the L shaped pond, was 30ft.by 50 ft., ran from west to east and was fed from the Caundle Brook which also used to supply the water power for the mill along a leet running parallel to the southern boundary of this field.
There are no longer any traces of the castle, which fell into ruin at the end of the 16th Century. Ernest Palmer when excavating a trench to lay a water pipe to the tithe barn in the late 1930s came upon a layer of cinder, which suggests that the ruined castle had finally been destroyed by fire. He also unearthed a mediaeval horseman’s spur, which is now in the Dorchester County Museum. The excavations for the fishponds, constructed in 1971, revealed nothing but an unusual number of small oyster shells. Pieces of molded stone, which may have come from the castle, have been found embodied in other buildings in the village.
The small chapel still stands among the farm buildings on the southern side of the brook, without the chancel portion as mentioned in its description by Hutchins III in 1869. The RCHM records the chapel as being 13th Century with a nave 21ft by 18ft, north and east walls nearly 3ft thick. A north doorway with a chamfered two-centered head, continuous jambs and a segmental pointed rear-arch and lancet windows in both north and south walls though the latter, like the east wall, is a modern reconstruction. There is said to be a small burial ground to the south of this chapel, one skeleton having been brought to the surface by floodwaters. There is no information available to show the dedication of this chapel, its use or its relationship with St. Peter’s Church
The site and watercourse of the mill, an important asset in the days of the Haddon Lords, may still be discerned. When last in use it had an iron water wheel donated as scrap iron to the war effort in the 1914.No trace remains of the pigeon loft which is shown in early maps to the east of the centre in Court Barton field. The tithe barn, probably 17th or 18th Century was still in use until 1963 when it was destroyed by fire,
The Hundred of Brownshall
A Hundred represented a division of a county having its own local court, known as the Hundred Court. The Hundred was regarded as denoting a division of a hundred hides of land, as an area that furnished a hundred warriors. The area of the Brownshall Hundred changed during the course of its existence and it finally comprised of the parishes of Stourton Caundle, Holwell, Stalbridge and Stock Gaylard.
The final severance of the Stourton connection with Stourton Caundle, was the sale of the estate in1714, due mostly to impoverishment brought about by penalties over a long period for the family’s refusal to change its religion. As "Recusants" they suffered serious penalties, including the sequestration of their property, from which they were never really able to recover.
A Hundred represented a division of a county having its own local court, known as the Hundred Court. The Hundred was regarded as denoting a division of a hundred hides of land, as an area that furnished a hundred warriors. The area of the Brownshall Hundred changed during the course of its existence and it finally comprised of the parishes of Stourton Caundle, Holwell, Stalbridge and Stock Gaylard.
The final severance of the Stourton connection with Stourton Caundle, was the sale of the estate in1714, due mostly to impoverishment brought about by penalties over a long period for the family’s refusal to change its religion. As "Recusants" they suffered serious penalties, including the sequestration of their property, from which they were never really able to recover.
The Administration of the Manor
Was carried out an Administrator under the supervision of an annual "Court Baron" at which proceedings were recorded by the Steward, or his deputy, in the Manorial Court Rolls. Two volumes only of these records, covering the years 1788 to 1821, have survived. The first business at each Court was the presentment of a regulation in regard to straying cattle. This is fully set out in the first year and repeated in succeeding years. Then follows the appointment of Hay-wards and Tithing-men one of each for Caundle and one of each for Woodrow. The duty of a Hayward was to look after hedges and fences, to keep cattle from injuring them and to impound stray cattle in the Pound which at that time was situated where the jubilee Oak now stands at the cross roads at the upper end of the village. The duty of a Tithing-man was to preserve good order and enforce observance of the Sabbath a forerunner of the early village constable.
A sufficient number of tenants were required to attend in order to constitute a meeting of the Court. The proceedings were held, either in Court (now Manor) Farmhouse, or in the Tithe Barn in Court Barton. Apart from the appointments the entries recorded in the Court Rolls refer mainly to reports on straying cattle, the repair of buildings, reports of deaths and changes of tenancies, nuisances and encroachments.
From 1852 some of the responsibilities of the “Court Baron” appear to have been taken over by the Vestry Meetings, at which appointments were then made for a Guardian, a Way-Warden and two Overseers responsible for the assessment, and collection, of rates to pay for handouts to the poor. The Guardian replaced the Tithing-man and the Way-warden. Later it became the normal practice to draw up a shortlist of names for Overseers foe presentation to the Justices who made the final choice. The Vestry proceedings were not entirely under the control of the church officials, however they did have a strong influence, and the affairs of the parish and the church must have been closely inter linked at this time. It was the vestry meeting that obtained the new burial ground in Drove Road and founded the primary school. In 1894 under the terms of a local government act, passed by the Houses of Parliament, the administration of parish affairs was transferred to a Parish Meeting
Was carried out an Administrator under the supervision of an annual "Court Baron" at which proceedings were recorded by the Steward, or his deputy, in the Manorial Court Rolls. Two volumes only of these records, covering the years 1788 to 1821, have survived. The first business at each Court was the presentment of a regulation in regard to straying cattle. This is fully set out in the first year and repeated in succeeding years. Then follows the appointment of Hay-wards and Tithing-men one of each for Caundle and one of each for Woodrow. The duty of a Hayward was to look after hedges and fences, to keep cattle from injuring them and to impound stray cattle in the Pound which at that time was situated where the jubilee Oak now stands at the cross roads at the upper end of the village. The duty of a Tithing-man was to preserve good order and enforce observance of the Sabbath a forerunner of the early village constable.
A sufficient number of tenants were required to attend in order to constitute a meeting of the Court. The proceedings were held, either in Court (now Manor) Farmhouse, or in the Tithe Barn in Court Barton. Apart from the appointments the entries recorded in the Court Rolls refer mainly to reports on straying cattle, the repair of buildings, reports of deaths and changes of tenancies, nuisances and encroachments.
From 1852 some of the responsibilities of the “Court Baron” appear to have been taken over by the Vestry Meetings, at which appointments were then made for a Guardian, a Way-Warden and two Overseers responsible for the assessment, and collection, of rates to pay for handouts to the poor. The Guardian replaced the Tithing-man and the Way-warden. Later it became the normal practice to draw up a shortlist of names for Overseers foe presentation to the Justices who made the final choice. The Vestry proceedings were not entirely under the control of the church officials, however they did have a strong influence, and the affairs of the parish and the church must have been closely inter linked at this time. It was the vestry meeting that obtained the new burial ground in Drove Road and founded the primary school. In 1894 under the terms of a local government act, passed by the Houses of Parliament, the administration of parish affairs was transferred to a Parish Meeting
The 18th Century
Manor Farmhouse, Brunsell Farmhouse, Woodrow Farmhouse, Barley Close and Trooper Cottage were all constructed during the early part of the 18th Century. Daisy Cottage, which was originally a Malt House before becoming the village bake-house, has a date of 1784 on its western gable. The construction of these farmhouses at this time suggests that it must have been around this period that the amalgamation of the tenanted small-holdings and the enclosure of the remaining mediaeval open fields, to form the larger farms, was taking place. This is borne out clearly in the Estate Map of the Parish, dated 1709, held among the Stourhead documents at the Wiltshire Record Office. A small portion from this map is inset in the map herein to illustrate the profusion of minute held tenancies which still existed in the south and east of the Parish at that time.
In other parts much larger fields with boundaries similar to those of today are shown. By the end of the 18th Century, the process was complete, with one farm of 400 acres, five of around 200 acres and three of 50 to 75 acres. This resulted in a reduction from 35 tenants of over 250 parcels of land distributed all over the Parish in 1709 to nine tenants in 1797 of consolidated farms which today total no more than 175 fields. In 1709 some 40 fields, approximately 16 per cent, are marked as "arab1e". These are mostly in the area where the corn brash seam bulges in the south of the parish. Now there are very few, such as the valuable home pastures, which have never been under the plough. 46 of the old 1709 field names have survived the intervening years, and many amalgamations, and are still in use today Some of these have become distorted.
There were two licensed premises at this time, the Catherine Wheel, later re-named the Trooper, and a second near the cross roads at Jubilee Oak which became an Ale House in the 19th Century and was the residence of the Guyer family.1801 to 1918.
Manor Farmhouse, Brunsell Farmhouse, Woodrow Farmhouse, Barley Close and Trooper Cottage were all constructed during the early part of the 18th Century. Daisy Cottage, which was originally a Malt House before becoming the village bake-house, has a date of 1784 on its western gable. The construction of these farmhouses at this time suggests that it must have been around this period that the amalgamation of the tenanted small-holdings and the enclosure of the remaining mediaeval open fields, to form the larger farms, was taking place. This is borne out clearly in the Estate Map of the Parish, dated 1709, held among the Stourhead documents at the Wiltshire Record Office. A small portion from this map is inset in the map herein to illustrate the profusion of minute held tenancies which still existed in the south and east of the Parish at that time.
In other parts much larger fields with boundaries similar to those of today are shown. By the end of the 18th Century, the process was complete, with one farm of 400 acres, five of around 200 acres and three of 50 to 75 acres. This resulted in a reduction from 35 tenants of over 250 parcels of land distributed all over the Parish in 1709 to nine tenants in 1797 of consolidated farms which today total no more than 175 fields. In 1709 some 40 fields, approximately 16 per cent, are marked as "arab1e". These are mostly in the area where the corn brash seam bulges in the south of the parish. Now there are very few, such as the valuable home pastures, which have never been under the plough. 46 of the old 1709 field names have survived the intervening years, and many amalgamations, and are still in use today Some of these have become distorted.
There were two licensed premises at this time, the Catherine Wheel, later re-named the Trooper, and a second near the cross roads at Jubilee Oak which became an Ale House in the 19th Century and was the residence of the Guyer family.1801 to 1918.
The 19th Century
For the 19th Century information from official and semi-official sources, such as census returns, Vestry and Church Council Meeting Minutes, Post Office and other Directories is much more readily available.
With the exception of Middle Woodrow, which became absorbed with Higher Woodrow Farm, the main farms continued with the same acreage as when they had first been formed. They changed tenants periodically and each successive generation of farmers naturally came to the fore in other village activities, providing those qualified to sit as Jurors or to vote at elections and to officiate at Manorial Court proceedings. Many of the existing cottages in the village, including the Old Vicarage, Grange Cottage and the houses and Bridge at Port Knapp (Cat Lane) are from the early part of this period. The foundations, at least, of some of these cottages may be much older for the 1709 estate map shows many buildings in the village on sites close to their present locations.
The population rose from 277 at the time of the first census in 1801 to a peak of 450 in 1851 and then fell again to 234 by 1901. The number of inhabited houses rose from 53 in 1801 to 94 in 1861 and then fell to 67, with as many as 12 unoccupied, in 1901. There had grown up around agriculture, upon which the village depended, most of the ancillary crafts and trades to make it self- supporting and independent of transport need for ordinary everyday necessities. Apart from a Post Office and a General Stores the village had its own Baker, Dairyman, Blacksmiths, Carpenters, Boot-makers, Cordwainers, Plasterers, Basket-makers, Publicans and a Saw-yard. But the general decline in the fortunes of agriculture in the second half of the 19th Century gradually eroded the situation. The increasing population could not be found employment in the village and the trend of migration towards urban areas set in.
For the 19th Century information from official and semi-official sources, such as census returns, Vestry and Church Council Meeting Minutes, Post Office and other Directories is much more readily available.
With the exception of Middle Woodrow, which became absorbed with Higher Woodrow Farm, the main farms continued with the same acreage as when they had first been formed. They changed tenants periodically and each successive generation of farmers naturally came to the fore in other village activities, providing those qualified to sit as Jurors or to vote at elections and to officiate at Manorial Court proceedings. Many of the existing cottages in the village, including the Old Vicarage, Grange Cottage and the houses and Bridge at Port Knapp (Cat Lane) are from the early part of this period. The foundations, at least, of some of these cottages may be much older for the 1709 estate map shows many buildings in the village on sites close to their present locations.
The population rose from 277 at the time of the first census in 1801 to a peak of 450 in 1851 and then fell again to 234 by 1901. The number of inhabited houses rose from 53 in 1801 to 94 in 1861 and then fell to 67, with as many as 12 unoccupied, in 1901. There had grown up around agriculture, upon which the village depended, most of the ancillary crafts and trades to make it self- supporting and independent of transport need for ordinary everyday necessities. Apart from a Post Office and a General Stores the village had its own Baker, Dairyman, Blacksmiths, Carpenters, Boot-makers, Cordwainers, Plasterers, Basket-makers, Publicans and a Saw-yard. But the general decline in the fortunes of agriculture in the second half of the 19th Century gradually eroded the situation. The increasing population could not be found employment in the village and the trend of migration towards urban areas set in.
The Slate Club
That the impact of hard times was being felt and appreciated may be seen from the founding in 1836 of the "Stourton Caundle Union Friendly Society", better known as the "Slate Club". This was a mutual benefit society to which members contributed for financial help during sickness, unemployment or other misfortune. On May 29th each year, any surplus funds from the previous year were divided out between members. The society’s emblem was painted on oiled silk, about 4ft by 2ft, surrounded by other fabric to form a large banner. The banner illustrated a skep beehive above clasped hands in the middle of a floral design, with bees in flight, and a scroll bearing the motto "May we all strive like bees of a hive and never sting each other". It could scarcely have been a coincidence that oak leaves acorns and oak apples were chosen to form the floral design of this banner. And that May 29th, Oak Apple Day, which commemorates the restoration of the monarchy as far back as 1660, should have been chosen for the annual celebration. Two more of the Society’s large banners are still in existence, one commemorating Queen Victoria’s Golden Jubilee, a Crown painted on oiled silk bearing the dates 1837- 1887, the other depicting the Clasped Hands motif and the Title and date of foundation of the Society. It is probable that all three were made about 1887 though there is no record of this. They used to be paraded with pride through the village on all festive occasions but would now no longer be in fit condition as they damaged in the fire that destroyed the Village Hut in January 1971.
That the impact of hard times was being felt and appreciated may be seen from the founding in 1836 of the "Stourton Caundle Union Friendly Society", better known as the "Slate Club". This was a mutual benefit society to which members contributed for financial help during sickness, unemployment or other misfortune. On May 29th each year, any surplus funds from the previous year were divided out between members. The society’s emblem was painted on oiled silk, about 4ft by 2ft, surrounded by other fabric to form a large banner. The banner illustrated a skep beehive above clasped hands in the middle of a floral design, with bees in flight, and a scroll bearing the motto "May we all strive like bees of a hive and never sting each other". It could scarcely have been a coincidence that oak leaves acorns and oak apples were chosen to form the floral design of this banner. And that May 29th, Oak Apple Day, which commemorates the restoration of the monarchy as far back as 1660, should have been chosen for the annual celebration. Two more of the Society’s large banners are still in existence, one commemorating Queen Victoria’s Golden Jubilee, a Crown painted on oiled silk bearing the dates 1837- 1887, the other depicting the Clasped Hands motif and the Title and date of foundation of the Society. It is probable that all three were made about 1887 though there is no record of this. They used to be paraded with pride through the village on all festive occasions but would now no longer be in fit condition as they damaged in the fire that destroyed the Village Hut in January 1971.
Phil Knott
